Not Simple Anymore
by SilversunnyD
Summary: Ken Kaneki had been a simple servant for Miss Rize Kamishiro until one night the mansion is attacked. Most servants along with the lady of the house died. He, however, had the "privilege" of living and having a teigu placed in his body.
1. Prologue: Blood in the Fire

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Ghoul or Akame ga Kill!**

**Warning: There will be intestines in this prologue. Things will likely get more graphic later on, because this is a crossover of Akame ga Kill and Tokyo Ghoul... I don't know what else you'd expect. Hence the rating. Plus I'm having another go of Corpse Party and you cannot have Corpse Party without intestines.**

* * *

_Prologue: Blood in the Fire_

* * *

He liked to think he was a simple guy. A few times a day he would prepare coffee for the lady of the house, fellow servants and guests. During the day he usually had a few minor tasks to do but it was mostly just coffee. When he had the time there was always books to be read. Of course, that wasn't all he did. There were times where he'd meet up with his childhood friend at a cafe.

There was also the slightly odd relationship he had with the lady of the house. Rize Kamishiro was the wealthy young woman he served. Like himself she enjoyed reading books and they'd often sit to talk about recent reads. Since she often had work to do however, she asked him for recommendations given their similar tastes in books. As far as what she did for work however, well, it wasn't really something he needed to know.

Why would anyone want to know? Whenever someone asked her they usually ended up missing or fired within the following month. Was it a dangerous place to work? Only if you upset the lady. She did know where everyone lived after all, the staff quarters wasn't exactly hard to find. It had never been worrying for him because he kept to the routine.

So, simple guy that's often overlooked. It had never been any different... until that one night, anyways.

* * *

It had all started with a fire in the middle of the night. No one knew what happened but the main house had caught fire and was quickly spreading to the rest of the land that belonged to Rize Kamishiro. They all knew the lady of the house had to be dead, she had been sleeping by the time they all retired for the night. There was no doubt they'd be following her soon. The fire had surrounded the building they were in.

Apparently, someone wanted to make sure they all died as well. He'd come with a strange, almost club-like weapon. Screams and cries of agony reached out into the night. By the time the fire had started to consume the building, there was almost no one left for it to kill.

The walls that had once been white and decorated with paintings and hall lamps seemed like a far off dream. Hall lamps were now decorated with severed limbs and intestines. Paintings were either shredded or repainted with blood. Walls were splintering and, much like the paintings, were repainted with spattered blood. There were even dents in the wall where people had been slammed.

Once beautiful, clean windows were now broken. The bodies of some had almost been cut in half and were now hanging over the broken windows. One of the doors had been slammed on one poor soul's neck so hard they'd been beheaded. Blood that wasn't on the walls or ceiling had formed a river on the once light blue carpeting and caused a sickening squelching sound with every step taken. Most bodies left were along the edges of the hall, among them the few left to die.

As the flames closed in and started to consume the building and flesh of the dead and dying began to blister from the heat, another figure entered. Whoever it was didn't seem to notice the heat or mind the scene before him. He walked right past the dead like they weren't there and only ever paused when he came across one of the dying, only to frown in disappointment and continue on. The man acted as if the bloody scene before him was a store. Not even paying mind to the terrible scent of burning flesh.

Finally, the man seemed to find what he was looking for as he stopped before one of the people still alive. A grin spread across his face. "Ken Kaneki, I believe."

The person he stopped by was male, in his late teens. He had gray eyes and black hair and wore a simple white shirt with some black slacks. Or at least the shirt had been white, it was covered in blood stains, particularly stemming from the gaping hole around where a kidney should be. Blood was dripping from his mouth and down his chin. Despite this however, he was in better condition than anyone else, dead or alive, aside from the man looking down at him.

* * *

He'd blacked out not long after the strange man that had known his name came. When he awoke, it was to the griping of a doctor. Honestly, he'd thought he would die of blood loss and smoke inhalation. Apparently he wasn't supposed to die that night, which left him with a sense of guilt. Everyone else was dead, how was it he was the one that managed to survive? There had never been anything special about him until that night.

The doctor taking care of him now hadn't been the first to treat him. There had been another doctor that had saved his life, after doing so he had handed Kaneki off to the current doctor. Who hadn't even caught the name of the first. Which came across as a bit suspicious to the survivor. Especially since he should've been dead.

There had been a hole where the kidney was. A hole. Now there wasn't even a scar to prove it when it had only been a week since the fire.

Kaneki had avoided mentioning the severity of his injuries to the current doctor. That would lead to questions no one but the first doctor could answer. So, as soon as the current doctor gave his seal of approval, he had left after being told what had happened. Or what had supposedly happened anyways. It was hard to be sure what to believe.

Official story was that Miss Rize had been targeted by Night Raid, along with her servants. Most dead before being burned by the fire. From the sounds of it, everyone thought poorly of Night Raid, more so now for targeting the kind and innocent Rize Kamishiro. It did kind of fit the assassins that operated in the dead of night, being able to take out a large number of people in a relatively small time frame. There wasn't any actual proof, but who else would kill Rize with the kind of connections she had?

At any rate, it wasn't like he could do anything about it. He was just the coffee and books guy, simply put.

Speaking of coffee, he hadn't had much of anything since waking up. The food doctor number two had given him had been far from satisfactory. It hadn't tasted the best, it also hadn't been very filling. Right about now he felt like he was starving actually. Which brought to mind several problems.

How was he supposed to afford food now that he was out of the job and all of his earnings were likely burnt to ashes? Where was he going to live now that his home, like his earnings, was burnt to the ground? Didn't he have to pay for being treated? Actually, aside from the clothes the doctor had been kind enough to give him, there was nothing in his possession.

In the end, he'd decided to visit the remains of the Kamishiro estate to see if any of his possessions had survived the fire.

It was a choice he would later come to regret doing.

* * *

If any of the gardeners had survived, they'd be crying. Finely trimmed hedges and topiaries were little more than twigs now. There was no grass to speak of, just charred ground. Ash had gathered around the decorative rocks. The once clear pond water was murky and looked almost poisonous on its own now. However, by some miracle the prized red spider lilies around the edges of the pond had survived. No doubt they'd take over the land if no one managed them. How fitting seeing as in the language of flowers they meant "never to meet again."

The main house had completely collapsed in the fire. Had Rize been alive at the time of collapse, she would've been buried alive. Hopefully she'd been killed in her sleep, at least then she wouldn't have to suffer with a chunk of wood in her abdomen until death took her away. It was doubtful that her body could or would be recovered. To his knowledge she had no family that would demand a body.

Miraculously, the staff quarters was still standing, although it didn't look like it would last for much longer. He could still see a body hanging out of a second floor window. The building that had once been white was now charred black and it creaked whenever a breeze came through. Oddly enough there was a good smell coming from the building.

He braced himself before entering the building. Even so, he cringed a little bit.

Despite the fire coming through one could still make out the blood, now dry and slightly, sickeningly crunchy underfoot. Deciding it was best if he didn't stop to observe his surroundings he made a beeline for what had been his room. At least it was on the first floor, stairs seemed like pushing his luck more than he already was.

There was only half a door for his room now, broken down the middle with one half on the floor and the other half hanging by the hinges. Well, it would seem the unlocked door had put up a fight. Aside from the broken door, it looked like the fire had reached into his room and did its best to get everything. In other words, scavenging something from his room would be a futile effort.

His stomach voiced its dislike of the finding.

That smell wasn't helping. Shouldn't it smell bad with all the burnt and rotting corpses?

Well... it did smell good. If nothing else he might be able to find something to eat.

_"Eat."_

* * *

His hands were shaking, covered in blood. The previous events hadn't been his doing... or at least they weren't exactly his doing. He'd seen it all, but he hadn't been in control of his body. It was like he'd been operating on some instinct that had never been there before. Like someone else had taken control. Which only made things worse in his mind.

Both the blood on his hands and the blood around his mouth was not his own. It had all come from the arm he'd dropped on the floor. An arm that had been more than just and arm when he first got there.

Had he really...?

Did he...?

Eat...?

Had he really just eaten a dead man?

Since when was he a... cannibal?

* * *

**Okay, after reading both the Tokyo Ghoul and Akame ga Kill manga in a week, this wrote itself. I have a serious idea bug that cannot be shaken.**

**Alright, this fanfic takes place in Akame ga Kill but some elements and characters from Tokyo Ghoul have been added. This is starting up a couple months before Tatsumi comes along.**

**Questions? Concerns? Pretty sure the first couple chapters will explain a few things, but just to make sure, review or send me a PM with anything that needs answers and I'll try to answer in-story. There is a plan set but don't expect me to hand out any major spoilers for this story. I will _try_ not to bite when you guys ask.**


	2. Nightmares of Blood

**Disclaimer: I own neither Tokyo Ghoul nor Akame ga Kill. If I did this crossover might've been canon.**

**Warning: I'm pretty sure I am being far from kind when it comes to emotional trauma. Gotta love nightmares.**

**Invader 47-Glad you liked it!  
TheIdioticGuy-I thought they'd make for a good crossover. Trust me, a badass Kaneki will appear. ;)  
Fangking2-The thought never crossed my mind.  
Wighty Zalymun-Where there is badass Kaneki, there is white haired Kaneki. In my book anyways.**

* * *

_Chapter One: Nightmares of Blood_

* * *

_He was following a smell through a familiar hallway. It was a good smell, like his mother's home cooking. Actually, careful observation would reveal that it was his childhood home. Poorly lit but otherwise nice despite being a wood-paneled apartment. The building had always been a fire hazard. Why did it always come back to fire when it came to his life?_

_Following the smell brought him to the small and cramped kitchen. His mother wasn't there like he'd hoped though. The kitchen wasn't as clean as his mother had always struggled to get it to either. There was, however, a familiar face at the stove._

_The lavender haired woman hadn't noticed him yet, but he'd recognize her anywhere. She wore a simple pair of glasses and a white dress that had long sleeves and went below the knees with minor frills and a brown belt around the waist. This was the woman he'd been working for in the past six years. There was even that small but familiar smile on her face as she focused on the task at hand. This, was Rize Kamishiro._

_As the rest of his surroundings registered, he started to feel a bit queasy. The reason the kitchen wasn't clean was because of all the spattered blood on the walls, floors and even the ceiling. Closer inspection of Rize would reveal some blood around her mouth and running down her neck, staining the dress slightly. He knew that it wasn't her blood he was seeing though. Without a doubt the blood had come from the body on the counter... or what was left of it._

_Parts of the body had been chopped off. Most notable being the head, which looked to have been put in a bowl and placed on the dining table as a centerpiece-something he had no plans to inspect. Organs had clearly been removed if the gaping hole in the victim's body was any indication. Despite this, he could at the very least tell the unfortunate soul was female. A closer look at what Rize was doing revealed that she held a frying pan over the stove, with the unknown woman's hand in the pan._

_"Hm?" Rize finally took notice of his presence with a quick glance over the shoulder and her smile seemed to grow. "Ah, Kaneki!"_

_The feeling of queasiness only seem to grow in the pit of his stomach. "Miss Rize... wha-what are you doing here...?"_

_Rize's smile turned to something falsely apologetic and more amused than anything. "Sorry. I know I said I wouldn't eat in front of you but... I figured you would need to get used to it now. You even went and ate some cold meat without me." She seemed to pout slightly at the statement._

_His fists clenched, not taking his eyes off the hand. There was a ring on one of its fingers. A familiar ring. How many times had he seen that hand with that ring, better yet, how long had it been? It couldn't be though... "Is that...?"_

_Once more Rize's smile changed, this time to one of glee. An insane type of glee. "It is! It is! I thought it should be someone you love~!"_

_Kaneki stiffly turned and walked over to the dinner table. He reached for the bowl and paused, wondering if he really wanted to see _her_ face. Somehow he found it in him to turn the bowl so he could see the face. Unfortunately, his thoughts on who was being cooked was correct._

_It was his mother's head, sitting in a bowl of red carnations. Something told him that the carnations had been white at first. Even in death, his mother wore a smile on her face, eyes closed and glasses still in place. The smile only made things worse._

_However, what he found most haunting was that he liked the smell of his own mother being cooked._

_"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?!"_

_As everything turned dark, Rize's voice was heard once more. "You already know the answer, Kaneki."_

* * *

Upon waking up, Kaneki lost whatever was left in his stomach. He hadn't eaten in days, so it was probably just some stomach acid, maybe some blood if his stomach had started eating itself. It sure felt like something was eating him from the inside.

It had only been a nightmare. A very disturbing nightmare. He'd been having nightmares whenever he fell asleep after eating one of his former co-workers. Truth was, if it weren't for a few key reasons he wouldn't be able to distinguish between nightmare and reality.

He knew it was a nightmare and not reality because his mother had been dead for eight years. That apartment had been burnt to ashes seven years ago, one year after his mother passed. It was six years ago that he first met Rize. Finally, Rize had never been one to cook her food.

After he'd eaten someone, he'd made sure to put some distance between himself and people. Particularly the Capitol, where the Kamishiro estate had been. He didn't want to eat people and there was no telling if he'd lose control again. Now he wasn't eating anything though. Although it might be for the best. Before the incident he'd considered going to his friend, it wasn't something he was going to risk now.

This was all because of Night Raid. Why did they have to kill Rize? Then, to add to the trouble, they started a fire. Adding to the fire, someone decided to directly go after him and the other servants. If they had just left them to burn he might have been able to escape with the others at the very least. At least then he wouldn't have gone cannibal.

_"You should go back and eat. You know it will only get worse." _For a second he swore he felt a hand on his shoulder. The voice sounded like Rize. It was almost enough to make him want to eat.

"No." Kaneki murmured, shaking his head slightly. "I refuse to eat another person."

_"You'll only go crazy with hunger if you continue as you have been."_

Rather than responding, Kaneki leaned back against the tree and buried his face in his hands.

_"You're already talking to me. Not even going to try to get revenge for your precious Miss Rize? Or even find out who caused this and why this is happening to you?"_

"It's better to be hurt than to be the one doing the hurting." Kaneki mumbled stubbornly, sticking by those words but his resolve seemed weak.

_"Your mother's words, huh? Do you forget where those words got her?"_

"Shut up." The words came out as a bitter growl.

_"If I were to shut up you'd be all alone. Don't you want to be the one to bring the hurt for once? She's dead because those words are wrong. It is far better to hurt than to be hurt. Your mother brought about her own death, will you do the same?"_

That statement was greeted with silence. Kaneki knew what he wanted, but he wasn't sure it was a good idea.

Then again, when it came to him was anything a good idea anymore?

* * *

The streets of the Capitol were pretty much empty. Perfectly normal at three in the morning. Midnight was far from a time to act when there was no curfew set. Even so, most night activities-more often than not illegal-were over by two. By three, the streets would be mostly clear aside from the rare patrol of soldiers actually doing their job and trying to keep the streets safe. Four was when the crazy early morning risers would start getting up.

He knew this because when he'd worked for Rize they had often ran out of coffee beans at the oddest of times. When they were out of coffee beans there was no coffee, when there was no coffee, one was better off searching the city like a crazy person than staying back at the estate. For six years that had been a big part of his life. It was only natural to pick up on the city's habits. Those searches had given him a good knowledge of the city.

Those searches had always ended at one particular coffee shop. Unless something was going on the shop was just about always open, even at three in the morning. However, he wasn't back in the city for coffee. Oddly enough the shop was closed anyways. A small part of him wondered what had happened, but it wasn't the time to be worrying about the shop.

Chances of running into a patrol were extremely low.

The light of a lantern came out of a nearby alleyway along with the sound of footsteps. "Whose there?!"

Well, it was a good thing the cloak he wore had a hood to hide his face. His plan for if he encountered anyone but the person he had come back to the Capitol meet was to run. Turning to do so however as a shot rang out lead to a graze on his shoulder. Rather than taking off to run or gripping his shoulder and giving out a cry of pain, he froze. Out of the corner of his eye he could just make out the graze.

His hand twitched, itching to just plunge into the shooter's stomach. He was still in control, but a part of him really wanted to fight them. To draw blood and maybe even take a bite...

"Don't try to run." One voice warned, the click of a gun was heard. A warning to cooperate. "Turn around and face us."

_"Going to let them talk to you like that?"_

Kaneki made no move to comply. One part of him wanted to get out of there, another wanted to spill some blood.

Another click was heard. "Do as he says."

Again, he felt his hand twitch.

"You have to the count of three!"

Still no movement.

"One!"

There was a twitch from Kaneki.

"Two!"

The graze on his shoulder was already healed.

"Three!"

Three shots were heard, closely followed by the sound of flesh ripping. No blood was spilled however.

All three bullets had become embedded in what appeared to be tentacles. The tentacles glowed faintly and were covered in dark, sinister red scales. There were four in total that had twisted together to form a sort of shield.

Kaneki turned his head slightly to see what had happened. It had felt like something clawed its way out of his back, only there was no pain. He'd been afraid of what he might see and grimaced at the sight of the tentacles. That had been exactly what he was afraid of. Given the situation, he couldn't think about it right now. Even so, he couldn't deny that he recognized the tentacles as an icy calm took over. "Miss Rize's..."

_"Now what will you do?"_

"I suppose I should start by asking what your real name is." Kaneki mumbled to the voice.

The Capital Guards weren't taking the sight quite as calmly as Kaneki was. All three of them had stepped back and were pointing their guns at the tentacle shield nervously. All three of them had fear written on their faces. Never had any of them seen something like it.

"Although I guess now we need to do something about them." Turning around to face his attackers, he tilted his head just enough for one eye to be shown. A red eye. While doing so the tentacles untangled themselves, taking position to attack. There was a small part of him screaming to leave, however the part that craved blood had taken full control now.

"Who the hell is he talking to...?" One of the guards murmured, a bad feeling in his gut.

_"I think I love this side of you..."_

Kaneki walked straight towards the guards despite the guards pointing their guns at him. The part of him that wanted to leave was silent now.

The nerves of one of the guard proved too strong and another shot rang out. A bullet got lodged into Kaneki's shoulder, no movement to so much as try blocking the bullet. For a moment, as the red-eyed Kaneki lurched back, the guard felt confident. That confidence didn't last long however.

It was like the bullet was pushed out from the inside. A small, clink was heard as the bullet hit the brick road. As Kaneki straightened up, the guards could see the hole the bullet made healing itself.

Once more, the same guard made to shoot again. Only this time, a tentacle had wrapped around the gun and forcefully taken it out of the man's hands before tossing it off. The sound of a breaking window was heard as another tentacle stabbed itself into the man's abdomen. Not forgotten, the other two guards were restrained by the other two tentacles.

When the first tentacle came back around it wrapped around the stabbed guard's neck, just shy of choking him. The other tentacle pulled out, curled slightly like a hook and dragged out the man's liver, spattering blood on the ground. All three guards screamed, one from pain and two from fear of similar fates. A sickening squelch was heard as the liver was pulled all the way out, and raised for the man to see. Right before his neck was snapped.

Briefly forgetting about the two remaining guards Kaneki pulled the tentacle with the liver to his face, sniffing the organ with an odd, almost childish, curiosity.

"Y-you're no-not going to..." The guard held to the left stammered, staring at the scene with a mix of fear and disgust.

"Hm?" Kaneki tilted his head towards the one who spoke. "Why not? I heard that the organs of a human taste best."

Both remaining guards started to look sick.

"Want a taste?" A twisted grin spread across Kaneki's face as he offered the liver to the guard that had asked.

The guard lurched slightly and started to thrash in the tentacle's grip. In response the tentacle that had snapped the first guard's neck moved to join another, further restraining the struggling guard. As the tentacle with the liver came closer, tears escaped the guard's eyes and a strangled scream rose up from his throat. His fingers clawed at the tentacles holding him in a futile effort.

As the liver was forced down the guard's throat, at the moment unharmed guard threw up. The sight was horrifying. When the man refused to swallow his head was slammed hard onto the brick pavement, a distinct crack being heard. Tears stopped flowing and the fingers no longer desperately clawed at the tentacles. A second guard was dead, only one remained.

While the last man was still alive, the look in his eyes was dead.

A disappointed look crossed Kaneki's face, dropping both the corpse and survivor onto the brick work. The man didn't even react.

Growing bored, two tentacles reached over to the first dead man and snapped an arm off. No harm in a snack for the road after all. Taking the arm in hand, the tentacles retreated back into Kaneki's back as he turned to walk away, only to freeze when he saw his reflection in a window.

Blood was spattered on his cloak, some from the bullets and some from his victims. His visible eye had turned a bloody red. The scene behind him wasn't exactly pretty either. He was even holding an arm!

As he seemed to return to himself the red eye turned back to gray. The rushing of many footsteps approaching the area was heard.

He had to get moving, fast.

* * *

"A red eye? Male? Not female?" For maybe the tenth time this was asked.

"Does it look like a sword or poison did this?" The defeated tone of the one surviving guard asked miserably.

Backup had come in the form of twenty guards, far too late to be of any help. A few had disappeared upon seeing the scene, no doubt newbies. The guard that seemed to be in charge of the group was asking the survivor about what had happened. Some of the others were trying to take care of the corpses while others began clean up.

The questioning guard frowned, looking down at the notepad he'd taken notes in. "Can you tell me what happened one more time?"

With a bowed head the survivor gave a small nod. "We came out onto the street and saw a guy wearing a cloak. Seemed sketchy. He wouldn't do what we told him so we opened fire but he blocked it with these tentacles that seemed to come out of nowhere." He took a shaky breath, the worst part was coming up. "He seemed to talk to himself then when he faced us we could see one eye. A red eye."

"When he was shot in the shoulder he regenerated. Then he killed the other two..." The man shook, memory clearly shaking the man up. "Took one of their arms, probably to eat... I think he was a cannibal."

"Regenerated, eh?" A distinct crack was heard.

Looking up the two guards saw a large man who wore a white suit with a red undershirt. His hair was black and combed back in the front but spiky in the back. He'd cracked his index finger using his thumb. Despite the fancy look, he was a very dangerous looking man.

"C-captain Yamori!" The guard that had been asking questions stammered.

Now identified as a captain, the man approached the survivor. "Tell me, how fast did he regenerate exactly?"

"The bullet was pushed out and then the wound healed itself in seconds." The man murmured, lowering his head. To say he was intimidated was an understatement. Captain Yamori was the reigning champ of cruelty among the captains.

"I see." A grin seemed to stretch across the captain's face. He turned to leave before seeming to remember something. Reaching down he grabbed the survivor by the front of his armor. "Let's have a little chat in my room, shall we?"

* * *

_"You'll have to eat eventually. You even have an arm. I personally think a whole body would be better, but an arm would be a huge step for you."_

After coming to his senses Kaneki had fled the scene, with the arm. At the moment, he was having a debate on why he should or shouldn't eat it. In an alleyway of all places.

_"I already told you that you'll go crazy with hunger. Then once you eat you can go find that person you came back to talk to."_

"You never told me your name." Kaneki mumbled, looking down at the arm in his hands.

_"Terribly rude of me. Takatsuki."_

* * *

**So, we got a possibly crazy Kaneki. Mentions of a coffee shop. One red eye. The-hopefully-obvious fact that Kaneki knows something about Rize. An encounter with some imperial guards. Then of course there's someone Kaneki is looking for. All according to plan.**

**Also, red velvet cookie to anyone who correctly guesses who Kaneki is looking for. Hint: It is a Tokyo Ghoul character.**

**Questions? Concerns? Thoughts on some parts? Review or send me a PM. I'll try to answer.**


	3. Blood Bar

**Disclaimer: I am a broke college student, I do not own Tokyo Ghoul or Akame ga Kill.**

**Warning: Blood. Nothing much this chapter. More information than action.**

**Cuhar-Nope, not Touka. Although she will be making an appearance later on.  
TheIdioticGuy-It will definitely be interesting.  
KyeVahl-It is not Touka, nor is it Hide.**

* * *

_Chapter Two: Blood Bar_

* * *

It was nearly five in the morning when Kaneki got to where he needed to go. Thankfully where he needed to go was open from six p.m. to six a.m. An unconventional place run by an unconventional woman. Many wondered how well her business fared when a curfew was set in place, but it always seemed to do just fine. Maybe there was some under the table payment for those seeking shelter when the curfew was in effect. That was something she would definitely do.

Kaneki's destination, of all things, was a bar. It was nicer than the leaky roofed taverns that usually dotted the streets by far. The bar was a red bricked building with black tiled roofs and no windows. Above a cherry wood door hung a black sign with the name of the bar in big white letters for all to know it was there. This bar, was called Helter Skelter.

"In disorderly haste or confusion." He quoted to himself, recalling the meaning of "Helter Skelter" from the first time Rize had dragged him along. Before that day he'd never heard of the term. Why he was ever dragged on any of the woman's expeditions was a complete mystery. Even so, he did learn quite a bit about certain places in the Capital.

For instance, the bar Helter Skelter. It was a good place to go if you wanted information, as long as you had information. People from all walks of life were known to come to the bar. That being said, it was a bar so it had drinks too. Drinks that catered to what any patron could possibly want. There was even a selection of blood for the cannibals.

Why would someone go so far for a customer? Well, she didn't do it for the customers so much as to satisfy her addiction. She wasn't the typical type of addict however. It wasn't a drug addiction by any means. Not for normal people anyways. The woman who own the bar however, wasn't normal and the center of her addiction was a drug. A drug for her anyways.

Itori of Helter Skelter, was addicted to information.

Only once had he seen her during the day and that was on a coffee run. She'd tackled some poor guy to the ground and demanded the guy to tell her something. She got pulled off by some Imperial Guards that had been patrolling, only to escape their grasp and tackle the unwilling informant again. Kaneki had left after that but he heard she got arrested in the end. When he asked her what happened, she had proudly declared she got the information she had wanted and only spent one day in a cell. Apparently jail was a good place to get information too. From that day on, Kaneki had always considered the woman an information addict.

He hadn't come all this way for a drink. What he needed right now was information and Itori was one of the people that could be trusted to give accurate information. As long as you gave her some information of value in return. Her working hours were also a contributing factor as to why he was coming to her for information rather than someone else.

Even so he was hesitant to enter the bar. Knowing her she already knew he was the one to survive. So the moment he stepped through the door she'd pounce on him for details on what happened. When his hand was on the doorknob he hesitated again before looking at his hand. The same hand he'd been licking blood off of not even an hour ago. Why did he eat that arm?

_"Pfft... you know you liked it. You want more too, right?"_

Hearing the voice that sounded so much like Rize in his head again was the final push he needed to turn the doorknob and enter the bar.

The interior of the building followed the color scheme of the exterior. Mostly red and black with the occasional white coloring. In the back was a vast collection of drinks standing proudly on what seemed like a wall of shelves. Before the wall of drinks was a black counter with a white tabletop and for seating there was a lineup of red bar stools. Behind the counter looking down at what appeared to be a newspaper boredly was the woman he'd come to speak to.

She had long ginger hair that flowed to the middle of her back and normal red eyes. Red eyes unlike what his left eye seemed to turn into whenever he was forced to act. From what he could see she was wearing the black dress she always wore when managing the bar.

When she heard the door close behind him she looked up lazily. That laziness died the moment she recognized who it was that had entered the bar. Her eyes lit up excitedly and even attempted to pounce over the counter, only for that same counter to knock the wind out of her.

Kaneki briefly sent a silent thanks to the counter before approaching and taking a seat. That was a mistake on his part, now he was in reach of the information addict.

The woman grabbed him by the front of the shirt and shook him. "Why the hell did it take you so long to come to me!? I need details idiot!"

It took a few minutes to get her to calm down and let go. This was only the second time she'd ever demanded information from him. At least this time it was a bit more understandable why she wanted information from him. The first time had led to a bad first impression.

"Alright coffee boy, tell me everything!" Once she was sure Kaneki wouldn't run off, she had settled down and returned to a similar position to that of which she held when he had first entered the bar.

"I have some questions too you know." Kaneki muttered, making his position clear. If he told her what happened, she better answer his questions in return.

"Oh?" Itori raised a brow, looking faintly amused. "And here I thought this was you easing the worries of your dear friend Itori..."

"You're not a friend." He pointed out with a sigh and shook his head.

"Ah, right." The woman smirked before waving a dismissive hand. "I'll answer your questions after you tell me what happened. At least to your memory."

He frowned, thinking back to that night. "I guess it started when I saw the shadows..."

* * *

_Flashback, Two Weeks Ago_

He'd been about to leave the servants' quarters because apparently more coffee needed to be brewed. It had been a long time since he got a full eight hours of sleep and it was all because of the coffee. Not drinking it, just making it. Of course, it was late at night when more coffee needed to be prepared. Passing by a window on his way to the door, he'd seen movement out of the corner of his eye.

Pausing to take a look, he could see the shadows of five figures moving about. But why could he see shadows this late at night? There shouldn't be anywhere near enough moonlight for such distinct shadows to be seen. Yet, there they were. So what was the source of light then?

It was then that his eyes traveled to the source of the fire. The main house was burning. Unusually red flames were reaching up into the night sky as it hungrily devoured Rize's place of residence.

First thing Kaneki did was wake everyone up. The fire was spreading and it would only be a matter of time before they reached the servants' quarters. They would've escaped too, if someone hadn't come to finish them off. One of the people's whose shadows he'd seen earlier without a doubt.

A massive club-like weapon came at him and punched a hole through his body, knocking him into a wall. The force of impact knocking him out for a little bit.

By the time Kaneki became conscious once more, all the other servants were dead or dying. A new man approached and knew his name without asking.

* * *

_Present Time_

"After that I blacked out again." Kaneki admitted after explaining what he could recall.

"Hmm... interesting." Itori mused to herself, staring up at the ceiling as if it might explain everything to her. "I feel like it creates more questions than it answers though." Lowering her gaze, her eyes narrowed slightly at Kaneki, as if trying to solve a puzzle.

"So I take it you don't know much about who caused the fire?" The coffee boy asked as he looked down at his hands resting on the counter.

"All I've heard is that it was Night Raid. Not a surprise really, we both know a little bit about Rize and what we knew about her alone would make her a target for many." She gave a thoughtful hum before turning and grabbing a pair of glasses and setting them on the counter. Without a word she walked over to the wall of drinks and grabbed what appeared to be an already opened bottle of wine. "Now it's my turn to ask a question."

_"When was it decided we were taking turns?" _Kaneki wondered to himself, watching as the woman poured some blood red liquid into each glass.

"How did _you_ manage to survive?"

_"Quick! Gut her now!"_

Kaneki stiffened at Itori's question, and Takatsuki's idea to get out of the situation wasn't helping. Looking at the woman warily, he was understandably hesitant to explain. Truth was, he wasn't a hundred percent sure himself although he had some idea of what happened. "I don't fully know myself."

"You're smart Kaneki, I'm sure you have some idea." One of the glasses were pushed over to Kaneki.

He frowned down at the glass. "You know I don't drink." It probably wouldn't hurt to tell Itori what his guesses were. The woman wasn't one to share information without being certain it was true. "All I have is speculation."

Itori ignored the bit about not drinking while picking up her own glass. "Speculation is better than nothing." With that she took a sip.

"Well, since you know I'm alive you probably know about how one doctor handed me over to another." He didn't even look up for her confirmation. "I think that first doctor was the man that knew my name, in the fire." His eyes rested on the untouched drink. "I'm sure you've been speculating about something in Rize's possession for a while."

"Ooh, do I finally get to find out the truth now that Rize isn't here to stop you?" The woman sounded rather amused at the development.

"Rize had a teigu." Kaneki confirmed, raising a hand to rub his eyes. "A teigu that craved human flesh."

"Explains the cannibalism." She gave a small nod, encouraging him to continue.

"Well, I think that first doctor implanted her teigu in my body." Why did the liquid in the glass seem thicker than wine? He shook his head, this was bringing him back to one of the main reasons he wanted to speak with Itori. "Which brings me to my next question." How many doctors in the Capital are into teigu research or human experimentation?"

Itori gave a thoughtful hum, swirling the contents of her glass a bit. "There's only three I believe that research teigu. Human experimentation on the other hand... this is the Capital we're talking about. People who aren't anywhere near qualified experiment all the time." She tilted her head back and drained the rest of her glass. "But I think I can narrow it down to the kind of people you're looking for."

She sighed, leaning against the counter. "I'll make a list, my turn again. So, if a teigu that craves human flesh is in you, have you joined the ranks of cannibals here in the Capital?"

Kaneki frowned at the glass that was still untouched. "Not by choice. When I eat or use the teigu my left eye changes too... although I don't know why you're asking since you already seem to have come to the conclusion. Giving me a glass of blood and all."

A small chuckle escaped the woman as she picked up the glass herself. She swirled the glass and its contents a bit before dipping her finger into the blood. "Can't let good blood go to waste now..." For the second time since his arrival to the bar Itori lunged over the counter and splashed some of the glass' contents on his face.

The reaction was almost immediate with Kaneki's left eye turning red. Itori practically squealed in excitement.

A hand reached up to touch the blood but he stopped himself. Well, that was enough of Itori for the night. "Last question. What do you know about Night Raid?"

Itori looked a bit disappointed but seemed to know she'd gone too far. The mention of Night Raid seemed to upset her more. "I have as much knowledge of them as anyone else." She released a sigh of defeat before sliding a piece of paper across the counter to him. "Here's the names."

Kaneki briefly wondered when she wrote the list but decided not to think too much on it, instead taking the piece of paper and getting up to leave. He was almost out the door when Itori called after him.

"Might want to get an eye patch or something! Don't want you getting red-eyed in a crowd now, do we? Oh and maybe visit Uta's and get a mask!"

"I don't need a mask..." Kaneki muttered, shaking his head at the woman's parting words as he shut the door behind him. He looked down at the list of names.

_Kouitsu Chigyou (Bowl head)_

_Stylish (Doesn't like being called anything else)_

_Akihiro Kanou (Might be dead)_

_Asaki Fueguchi (Got nothing)_

Well, this list of names was a good start for him. "It isn't like I'm about to start causing trouble."

* * *

**So we got some doctor names, hopefully they stuck out a bit.**

**So, any thoughts? I kinda splurged with the dialogue and information this chapter. Let me know what you think through reviews, PM's or somehow tracking me down elsewhere. I'd prefer no one use that last method.**

**Fortune cookies.**


	4. Blood on the Scalpel

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Ghoul or Akame ga Kill, actually if I owned anything more crossovers would actually occur.**

**Warning: A little blood, a little guts, maybe a little torture.**

**KyeVahl-Look on the bright side, they both will appear... at some point. It is all in the plan.**

* * *

_"It definitely seems like Dr. Kanou is dead. No body was found but around a month ago his entire clinic had been drenched in blood seemingly overnight. Another case where Night Raid is involved. A woman carrying a large pair of scissors had been seen fleeing the scene, an identified member of Night Raid." _Kaneki thought to himself grimly as he pondered his next course of action.

A week had passed since his visit to Helter Skelter. In that time he'd done some checking himself into the list of doctors Itori had given him. Kanou appeared to be dead. Then the guy that went by Stylish seemed difficult to track down, from what he'd learned the man was out of the Capital at the moment. He'd already seen Chigyou for himself a few days ago, a bit quirky but not who Kaneki was looking for in the end. Now the only doctor left to look into was Fueguchi until Stylish turned up again.

His search for Fueguchi had brought him to the area near the Capital's western gate. The doctor ran a clinic open to the public although it prioritized soldiers, then again all clinics had to by law. Some were able to get away with not prioritizing the soldiers, but those were few. Fueguchi's clinic was one of the clinics more often visited by soldiers, particularly captains and up apparently. This meant that criminals would have to find aid elsewhere, or risk capture.

Good news is, Kaneki wasn't a criminal. Rumor of some guards being brutally murdered had circulated only briefly. Large numbers of brutal murders took place in the Capital everyday-usually at night-so his acts a week ago seemed to be buried for the most part. It wasn't like his left eye was red now and he wasn't wearing a cloak covered in blood.

Bad news was, he had managed to avoid eating people. A clinic that could potentially have traces of blood had the possibility of setting him off again. While he'd learned to suppress his hunger, that was without anything setting him of. There was no telling if he'd be able to continue the suppression when in the presence of a trigger.

Takatsuki was irritated with him for not eating for a week. Thankfully he'd learned to ignore her voice a majority of the time. There were times when he felt his resolve weaken but he always caught it and re-convinced himself not to eat people. Regular food just wasn't satisfying anymore however. It was like the teigu ate almost anything a normal human ate in seconds but it took a while and seemed satisfied by human flesh. By doing so it was causing him to starve unless he ate a person.

Kaneki wasn't about to start eating people if he could avoid it. Even if it meant starving to death. It wasn't like he was going to start something that would require him to continue living. Actually, since the fire there were few people that could even recognize him now. There was his friend, some of the people at the coffee shop he used to frequent... Well, he'd never claimed to be a social butterfly.

Going back to the problem at hand. Kaneki could be found sitting on a bench just down the street from the Fueguchi clinic. He wore a plain white shirt with black slacks. Nothing that stuck out too much. It was better than whatever could've been scavenged from what used to be his room back at the Kamishiro estate. He didn't exactly have a lot of money to burn however so he had to budget his spending carefully. Not needing food helped however.

Taking a breath Kaneki got up and made his way to the clinic. He honestly wasn't sure what to expect so he needed to be prepared for anything. What he hadn't been prepared for was a building that looked more like a home than a clinic. Kaneki almost knocked on the door, but the sign above the door clearly said: "Fueguchi Clinic" meaning it was a business of sorts. No knocking needed.

A small bell rang above his head as he entered the establishment. Wooden floors, white painted walls. Some chairs along the wall for patients he assumed. There was a door opposite the entrance, probably the main part of the clinic. Windows to look out at the city street. Paintings to decorate the plain walls. Couple of tables with a few different papers placed on top, most likely to occupy those waiting to be seen and then there was a desk by the other door for the receptionist.

Behind the desk was a pale woman who wore a pastel yellow-white dress. She had long brown hair braided and coming over her left shoulder and dark brown eyes. A smile was on her face when he came in. "Welcome to the Fueguchi Clinic."

Kaneki stood there awkwardly for a moment before approaching the desk hesitantly. "Ah, hello." He fidgeted a little, maybe it was the lack of communication with others lately, but his conversation skills seemed worse than usual.

The woman seemed to pick up on his uneasiness. "Did you come to see Asaki? He's with a patient right now but he should be done in a little bit."

He was a little surprised she was calling her employer by first name. Then his eyes landed on the wedding ring on the woman's left hand. So she must be Dr. Fueguchi's wife. "Ye-yeah. I need to ask him a few things."

"Ah, well we're not expecting anyone so if you can wait for a bit he can see you when he's done." The woman suggested, her smile seemed a bit smaller but even so she still sounded kind.

The black haired boy nodded an offered an awkward smile. "I can wait. Thank you...?"

"Ryouko Fueguchi." The woman offered a gentle smile. "You?"

"Ah, Ken Kaneki. I prefer to go by Kaneki however." Kaneki offered a weak smile before going to take a seat by one of the tables.

_"I didn't expect him to be married..." _He thought to himself, out of the corner of his eye noticing for the first time there was a third person in the room. A young girl that looked an awful lot like Ryouko. Most likely a daughter then. _"Or to have a family actually..."_

_"Big deal. If he turns out to be the guy you're looking for you can just kill them too." _Takatsuki spoke up, sounding rather bored.

_"I'm not killing anybody."_ Kaneki thought to himself, knowing Takatsuki would hear the thought.

_"Then why are you looking for the guy in the first place?"_

At that, Kaneki looked down at the floor. Why did he want to find the guy that put a teigu in his body?

_"Nothing to say?"_

_"I... just want answers." _He decided to himself, even so Takatsuki still heard the thought.

_"Keep telling yourself that."_

He frowned at that. Takatsuki always seemed to think the worst of people.

Deciding to go back to ignoring the voice, Kaneki chose to observe his surroundings again. The girl was a few chairs over and reading a book with a notebook on her lap. So she was probably taking notes on what she was reading. Looking at the table a variety of articles, new and old could be seen littering the surface. There were even one or two dated for before the fire, around three weeks ago if he'd been keeping track of the date right.

The door that lead deeper into the building opened slightly. "Ryouko, could you come in here? I need an extra pair of hands."

Kaneki glanced towards the open door, hoping to catch a glimpse of the doctor. His hopes were quickly dashed however as Ryouko gave a quick nod before going through the door. Not even a backwards glance. It looked like he'd have to wait to see the doctor's face after all. Now it was just him and the assumed daughter of the older Fueguchi pair.

Looking more carefully at what the girl was doing, he noticed she was writing down certain kanji. There was no apparent order for them to make sense, at least to him. Then there was the way she'd frown at something she had read, looking confused. She'd get a thoughtful look as if trying to figure something out before writing down another kanji. Was it possible she was trying to learn what those kanji meant?

"Shuuu." The word slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself when he noticed one particular kanji. It had caused the girl to jump at the sudden sound of his voice before looking at him with confusion. Realizing he should explain himself, he pointed at the kanji he'd noticed on her note pad. "The kanji, it means shuuu... A shower that comes down suddenly."

"O-oh." She stuttered nervously before looking down at the kanji he was pointing at. "Th-thanks."

He offered a small smile. "No problem..." Now he wasn't sure if he should say something more or not. In the end, Kaneki didn't have to worry about it anyways.

Ryouko had returned to the front room without his notice. A small smile on her face from watching the interaction between the two. "Ah, Kaneki? My husband..." She gestured to the door where two newcomers stood.

One was a regular guard with his left arm in a sling. This man was out the door not long after being seen, so Kaneki paid him no mind. The second was undoubtedly Dr. Fueguchi. The man wore brown slacks that cut off below the knees with a white button-up shirt, a white lab coat and an odd pair of sandals. He had black hair just long enough for a small ponytail and had dark gray eyes.

"I heard you wanted to ask me something?" The man asked, walking up to Kaneki and holding out his hand. Had Kaneki been more observant he might've noticed the man's slightly guarded look.

"A few, actually." Kaneki admitted, taking the older man's hand.

"I see." The man glanced over at Ryouko. "Why don't you take Hinami and head over to the shop?"

"Ah." Ryouko offered a smile and looked over at the girl now identified as Hinami. "What do you think Hinami?"

Hinami smiled and jumped up to her feet, nodding to her mother. With that mother and daughter left the clinic without so much as a backwards glance.

Once Kaneki and the doctor were both seated in the front room, the air seemed to become still with tension. Both for their own reasons.

"Well, ask away." Asaki stated, his guarded look more apparent to Kaneki now.

Kaneki tapped the chair arm nervously. "What do you know about the Kamishiro Fire?"

The man blinked, obviously not expecting the question. "... Not much. Just that there was one lucky survivor."

"Lucky?" Kaneki echoed with a raised brow.

"Well, yes. He did survive after all. I heard that he had some pretty bad injuries, not to mention the smoke inhalation." He nodded thoughtfully, as if trying to solve a puzzle. "I'd like to meet the doctor that saved him."

"Well... I wouldn't say I was lucky I survived." The words were in a low murmur, even so, Kaneki was sure the doctor had heard. He felt he could trust this man. "I watched everyone around me die in that fire. It wasn't the fire that killed most of them off either."

Asaki shifted uneasily in his seat. "So... it really was Night Raid then...?"

"I didn't see his face, but probably." With a sigh Kaneki placed a hand over his face. "I'm trying to find out who it was that saved me. I guess it wasn't you though..."

The doctor grimaced and shook his head. "Sorry, I'm afraid not... But why did you suspect me?"

"An informant... I knew it was a doctor that knew a bit about teigus or human experimentation. You were one of the first names I was given." Of course, that made Kaneki wonder what exactly Fueguchi did behind the scenes to get listed in the first place. What did the family man do to get on Itori's radar?

Asaki stiffened slightly, apparently finding that he was included on the list hit a nerve. "And why are you... Why are you looking into teigu and human experimentation experts...?"

Kaneki looked Asaki in the eye. He wasn't sure if he should tell the man... However, looking the man in eye, Kaneki couldn't help but feel like maybe he could trust the man. "Well... the doctor who saved me... he did something." Maybe telling the doctor would help the clearly guarded man trust him as well. "The reason I'm alive right now, is because the doctor that saved me put a teigu in my body."

* * *

For the second time that day, a bell rang above Kaneki's head. Only this time, he wasn't stepping into a clinic, but a coffee shop. A coffee shop he'd been to many times before the fire and was beginning to miss. This coffee shop in particular was popular among a certain circulation of people. The name of the coffee shop, Anteiku.

Anteiku was a quiet little shop that proved perfect for book lovers and had excellent coffee. This was the same place he'd go if he needed coffee beans and no place else was open. Actually, before he'd worked for Rize, he had helped out at the shop after his mother's passing for two years. He'd learned how to make a good cup of coffee in that time. After taking a job with Rize, Anteiku had become a second home.

He hadn't come to the shop since before the fire.

"Ah, Kaneki!"

Even so, he was a well-known face among the Anteiku staff and some of the customers.

The one who had greeted him was a man with brown hair styled with a slight pompadour and had light brown eyes. He wore the typical Anteiku staff uniform of a white shirt, black slacks, a black vest and a dusty gray-red tie. Kaneki recognized the man as Enji Koma.

"Come on in!" Koma waved his arm for Kaneki to approach the counter where the man was cleaning a cup. "We were starting to wonder when you'd show up!" He offered a grin, a familiar grin.

"I'm guessing you heard from Itori then." Kaneki murmured as he approached the counter.

"Of course." Turning his head Kaneki saw another familiar face, this one female. She had long black hair and dark brown eyes. As an employee of Anteiku, she wore a white shirt, black skirt, black tights, black vest and dusty gray-red tie. Her name was Kaya Irimi. "We've been keeping an ear out for you ever since the fire."

"Sorry to make you guys worry." Kaneki mumbled, rubbing the back of his head and choosing not to make eye contact. "I thought I should stop by real quick since I was in the area. Can't stay long."

"Are you and my husband done talking already?"

Looking over his shoulder at one of the tables, Kaneki was surprised to see Ryouko and Hinami. So they frequented Anteiku as well then. Well, there was that certain circulation thing, so he shouldn't really be surprised. The Fueguchi family was in the "Anteiku Circle" as it was commonly called by those in it, since Anteiku was at the center of the circle and all. With the Fueguchi Clinic being down the street and Asaki's name coming up on his list of doctors, he really shouldn't be surprised that they would come to Anteiku.

"Miss Fueguchi, of course." Kaneki offered a small smile to the woman. "Doctor Fueguchi was very helpful."

Ryouko looked a little relieved and smiled at that. "I'm glad to hear that."

* * *

_Meanwhile, back at the clinic..._

The front door was slammed off its hinges as a man wearing a white suit with a red shirt entered the clinic. He was a massive man and seemed to exude a dangerous aura. Despite the entrance however, he looked calm. A crack was heard as he reached his thumb over his index finger. This was one of the captains of the Imperial Guards, Yakumo Oomori but more commonly known as Yamori.

"Y-Yamori!" Asaki was found by the receptionist's desk, staring at the scene before him with a measure of worry. "What brings you here?"

Yamori smirked as he sauntered over to the doctor. "I was wondering if you could help me with something. You see, I'm looking for someone. They had at least one red eye, a speedy regeneration going on. You have knowledge on human experimentation, I was wondering if you knew him."

Asaki stiffened slightly at the description, which only made Yamori's smirk grow. "Why ask me?"

In a flash, the doctor was being held by the throat. "Don't play dumb now, Asaki." There was a predatory look in Yamori's eyes. "One of my men were in here earlier... heard that conversation you had with someone just a bit ago."

Terror was flashing in the doctor's eyes. His hands wrapped around the larger man's wrist in a vain attempt to escape his grasp. A part of him knew what was going to happen next, but it wasn't going to stop him from trying to live. He had a wife, he had a daughter... heck, a part of him even wanted to live for the survivor that had walked into his clinic not long ago.

He'd promised Kaneki he'd try removing the teigu himself. As long as the teen upheld his promise of course. Who was he kidding though? Kaneki seemed like the type to do so without anything being held against him.

"Well, I can always ask that wife of yours." Yamori stated absently as he lifted his free hand. He was flat out grinning at the fear in the doctor's eyes. His hand seemed to become wrapped in dark purple flesh. Without a second thought, that same hand was plunged into the doctor's body, eliciting a strangled scream.

It didn't end there however. Yamori seemed to be fishing around in the man's body, causing further screams out. Then he suddenly stopped fishing, apparently having found something of interest. Pulling his encased fist out, covered in blood, with a disturbing fleshy snap, a heart rested in the captain's hand. "Oh? Would you look at that Asaki! And here I thought your pretty little wife had this!"

What Yamori had failed to notice, was that Asaki wasn't screaming anymore. Realizing there was no sound, the man looked at the toy to see a pair of lifeless eyes. The dissatisfying sight made him frown. "Huh, guess you're dead. Too bad, you won't get to see me crush your heart..."

He had just been about to crush the heart himself, when he heard a gasp. Dropping the body, Yamori turned to see the source.

The doctor's wife and daughter had returned, with the company of a young man with black hair.

Yamori's grin returned full-force. "Ah, perfect timing." He clenched his fist, crushing the heart with so much force some blood hit the ceiling. His keen eyes didn't miss the slight twitch of the black haired newcomer. It wasn't a flinching twitch, it was more of a resist temptation twitch.

"Kaneki." The woman, the doc's wife spoke, glancing at the boy. "Take care of Hinami for me, get out of here."

This seemed to shock both the boy and the doctor's daughter.

"Mom?" Hinami asked with a worried tremor in her voice.

The woman's eyes had a steel to them that surprised the daughter and made her take an uncertain step back. "Run."

Kaneki, the boy, his hands were twitching as if arguing with himself about what to do. But the look in the woman's eyes seemed to convince him to take the girl and go. Taking Hinami's hand the two youngest in the clinic ran.

* * *

"Hinami... live."

Those were the last words Kaneki heard from Ryouko Fueguchi as he lead Hinami out of the clinic.

Why did someone have to attack now? Because he hadn't had any human flesh he couldn't use the teigu. According to Takatsuki, if he didn't eat, she didn't have the energy to fight. This left him completely useless. The least he could do for the Fueguchi's was save their daughter. He had promised Asaki he'd take care of Hinami if something happened.

Even if the teigu hadn't been taken out of his body, he would still do what he could to keep her safe... Although without the teigu he didn't exactly have the power to keep her safe himself.

He knew someone who might however.

As he and Hinami ran, Kaneki glanced back. Unfortunately he was just in time to see Ryouko's already bloodied and crippled body be thrown into the wall of the opposing building. There was no other option if he wanted to keep Hinami safe.

"Go back to the shop." Kaneki stated before letting go of the girl's hand and skidding to a stop.

Instead of running further, the girl stopped to stare at him. There was a look of betrayal in her eyes. Not because he wanted her to go on her own though. It was because chances were, he wasn't coming back.

"I'll come back for you. I promise." He forced a smile, making it as convincing as he possibly could. "Give me two weeks, tops."

Hinami hesitated, but seeing Yamori catching up she clenched her fists. "You better come for me!" With that she ran off down the street, disappearing into a nearby ally.

_"Guess it's a good thing you're awfully hard to kill." _Takatsuki spoke up, annoyingly calm despite the situation.

Kaneki turned to face the monster chasing him. That monster of a man had killed both Asaki and Ryouko. He wasn't going to let Hinami suffer the same fate. At least at Anteiku she'll be somewhat safe. Koma and Irimi weren't exactly weak and if nothing else there was the manager.

The massive man grinned as he caught up to Kaneki. "Got guts kid. If you're trying to be noble and keep the girl safe however, I'll still find her."

It was one thing for something like this to be happening at night. But the sun was still out. Or at least he assumed so, some clouds had moved in.

"I won't let you hurt her." Kaneki stated, shifting his stance, ready to defend. He would hold out as long as he could, give Hinami as much time as possible. "I promised Asaki."

At that, the man whose right hand was encased in some kind of dark purple flesh sneered. "That weakling?" The man's white suit was speckled with blood.

His nose twitched, he could smell the blood from where he stood. It was making him anxious. He could really feel the hunger now.

"Oh?" The monster leaned in closer to Kaneki. He'd seen something very interesting. "Your eye turned red." A grin spread across his face. "I wonder if you'll regenerate."

Kaneki reached towards her left eye. The smell of blood and his hunger must've gotten him worked up. Even if he couldn't attack with the teigu. It didn't matter though, because the next moment there was a bleeding gash in his arm. If his eye wasn't red before, it was now.

When had the man even moved? He'd moved with so much speed that shouldn't be possible for someone so large. The man had yet to attack again as well. Instead he was watching the wound with curiosity as it started to repair itself. How had he even known about the regeneration?

A grin, much more twisted than Kaneki had seen so far was now on the large man's face. Once more, before Kaneki could react the man attacked. Only this time the flesh-clad fist went into his stomach. The move had forced Kaneki to cough up blood as he struggled to process what was happening.

_"Well, you're dead."_

The man withdrew his fist, allowing Kaneki to fall to his knees.

"How about I show you my favorite place?"

* * *

**Just when Kaneki was making friends... Well, I think we all know what Yamori is going to do. Toes, centipedes, numbers and all that. Hmm... that sounds like a good warning for the next chapter actually. Sorry this chapter got posted a bit later than usual. Normally I'd have posted right before I went to sleep Friday morning, but I didn't even have a majority of this chapter typed up then.**

**You know the drill, leave me some of your thoughts on the chapter. I don't care if it is by review or otherwise, I like feedback. Tells me if I should work on something or not. There should be another chapter on Friday as long as nothing comes up.**

**Also, anyone read Tokyo Ghoul:re yet? I feel like the answers everyone wants aren't going to come for a long time for some reason.**

**Hmm... what else is there... oh yeah, a black squirrel crossed my path!**


	5. Hungry for Blood

**Disclaimer: I do not own Akame ga Kill or Tokyo Ghoul. I think I of all people would know if I did... or would I...?**

**Warning: Toes, centipedes and we'll see what else.**

**R-king 93-Ah yes, the blue Sparda brother does make a good point.**

* * *

If one were to enter a strange, dome like building that stood in the Capital, one would find it was only one large room. The structure was supported by a web of blood red support beams giving the inside the appearance of a bird cage. A black and white tiled floor with no other variation. For furniture there was only a chair, a small metal table on wheels and a bucket.

In the bucket one would find numerous sets of toes and fingers that had been cut off. On the metal table was a series of various tools all lined up, some with blood both old and new. As for the chair, a lone figure sat with his hands cuffed around the back. The room itself, was known to some as Yamori's Lair.

Yamori was known for his love of torture, not just among guards but civilians too. There was a good reason he was known however. If one wanted to escape the man's notice, one had to pass for boring. For those unfortunately unable to pass for normal, well, they usually ended up in the chair. To Yamori, torture was a hobby and whoever ended up in the chair was just a part of that hobby.

At the moment however, Yamori was not in the dome. Allowing Kaneki time to recover before the next round of torture began. The toes and fingers in the bucket were his own. Apparently the toes and fingers would just grow back thanks to the teigu in his body. A bittersweet type of thing he supposed, healing only to get injured again.

Kaneki had lost track of time in the room. For all he knew, weeks had passed since Yamori brought him to this place. When he'd first gotten there, he'd seen Yamori's last victim. Even worse was that Kaneki recognized the guy as the guard he'd left alive that night he returned to the Capital. The man had hardly been recognizable.

Burns had marked the skin with an X over each major organ. Nails had been pounded in around each of the marked organs. Somehow the man had survived that, only for a metal rod to be slammed through the nose at an angle so that it came out the chin. Some bone fragments stuck out around the rod as a result. As for the legs, well, they had been tied in a way that had to mean the bones had been completely shattered, some fragments poking out of the skin.

Logically speaking, the man should have been dead. He definitely was after Yamori had walked up and snapped his neck like a twig. It had been done with only one hand, since the other was holding Kaneki. Once the body had been tossed off the chair, a sense of dread had washed over Kaneki as he was placed where the body had been and his hands were cuffed around the back of the chair.

_"At least Hinami is safe."_ That had been the one thought to keep him at least a little anchored.

Had there been a reason he was being tortured, maybe Kaneki would've been able to stay sane. It seemed reasonable the Yamori would want to know where Hinami had gone, Kaneki wouldn't have told him but at least then there would be reason behind the torture. However, there was no reason to for this torture. It wasn't revenge for the guards he'd killed. Yamori hadn't cared about the murders, or the cannibalism of an arm.

When the torture had begun, with toes being cut off with pliers, Yamori had instructed him to count down from one thousand by sevens. With time however, it occurred to him that the countdown kept him conscious and distracted-at least somewhat-from the pain. The numbers became a support of sorts, something to cling to.

_"Still believe your mother's words? That it is better to be hurt than to cause hurt?"_

Takatsuki had been egging him on to fight back or something. Only now he was seeing Takatsuki as well, in the form of Rize. She'd walk around, almost tauntingly. Showing off the fact that she was free of any bounds and uninjured. He wasn't sure if Takatsuki knew he was seeing Rize when she spoke, but if she was doing it on purpose he had another reason to kill the teigu.

Not that he'd ever kill the teigu given the chance. It had belonged to Rize after all.

_"You're pathetically weak to be in possession of a teigu. You have the ability to use it. If you would've just accept the teigu, you would no longer be weak. Instead, you've allowed yourself to be hurt, like your mother. That is not kindness, nor is it strength. That was weak."_

Kaneki bit his lip, eyes wandering to his hair. He hadn't noticed in the beginning but his hair had been graying at an excessive rate from all the stress the torture had been putting him through. Usually it would take far longer for hair to gray due to stress. Had the affect been accelerated by the teigu or was he really that stressed from the torture.

_"Your mother let her weakness win. In the end she worked herself to death trying to help her sister, who wasn't even deserving of help in the first place. So ask yourself this, Kaneki. Do you wanted to die like this? A life that was saved and did nothing with his second chance? Or do you want become strong, kill the ones responsible for this situation?"_

He had told himself many times he didn't want revenge. That he didn't want to kill the one who put a teigu in his body. It was all a lie however, part of him wanted exactly that. Why else would he keep going back killing the doctor? Why did he ask Itori about Night Raid? Simply put, he'd been telling himself one thing but actually wanting to do something completely different.

The single large metal door was slammed open and the image of Rize disappeared. It had seemed like only a minute ago that Yamori had left. But bowing his head and looking down at his feet, he could see his toes had grown back. Rings of dead skin marking where they'd last been cut. One cut and the dead skin wasn't noticeable. Multiple cuts in the same place, and the layers built up.

Apparently plenty of time had passed for him to recover then. Which meant it was time for another round. But what would it be this time, that was the fear deep down. There'd been more than toe-chopping since this all started. He knew Yamori could and probably would dish out worse. For once, Kaneki wished someone had been killed rather than a lucky survivor.

He'd been told Yamori's story. Of how the Imperial Guard Captain that Yamori now was, used to be a heavily recognized criminal. Until he was captured and imprisoned for one small slip up. One of the captors had tortured Yamori. Somehow Yamori started to convince himself that he was his own captor. Then, when the chance came, the captor had been killed and Yamori escaped back to the Capital. Where connections had been pulled to get Yamori enlisted as a Captain.

Now, Yamori got to be the one doing the torture. Because Yamori was strong, and he, Kaneki, was weak.

A Yamori approached, he held something up. Something that struggled in his grasp. It was black and yellow, with a bit of red at the end. "The Ankheg red-headed centipede. I'm guessing you haven't heard of it since its only native in a country overseas. Even so, they're becoming increasingly common here in the empire. Invasive species and all that. I've heard the big ones can grow to be over twenty centimeters long."

So this round of torture would include a centipede then. One thing Kaneki had picked up, was that everything Yamori told him had something to do with the next bout of torture. He really didn't want to know what this one would be about. But he was going to find out anyways. Kaneki chose to keep his head bowed, not seeing what was about to happen might have a numbing affect...

"I'm going to try putting this one in your ear, alright?"

An icy hand gripped his heart and he whipped his head around to look at Yamori and the centipede. He pleaded and begged for the man not to put the centipede in his ear. No one listened to him however. He could hear a faint clicking from the centipede that got louder as it got closer. His pleads turned into screams as the tiny legs made contact with his ear.

That faint clicking seemed impossibly loud as one by one a leg touched his ear while another went into his ear. All forty tiny legs. He could feel the pincers try to bite which only made him scream more. The antennae were ticklish in an excruciatingly painful way. By the time the last of the legs entered he was thrashing in the chair and screaming bloody murder.

Yamori wasn't done however. He pulled out a roll of tape and wrapped it over his eyes and ears, closing off escapes for the centipede.

At some point Kaneki had stopped screaming. He could still hear the centipede but he could also hear laughter. Yamori was laughing, enjoying every moment. But he wasn't the only one laughing, at first Kaneki wondered who else was there. As his body shook, he realized that while he had stopped screaming, he had started laughing instead.

* * *

_"You'll never be able to protect anyone like this. You want to protect that girl, don't you? That one thing you couldn't do during the fires. What you couldn't do for your mother. In a world of hurt or be hurt, why not spare yourself the pain?"_

The Rize apparition had returned at some point. After the tape had been removed, the centipede had yet to leave him however. Yamori had come and gone several times. His hair had turned completely white from the stress. To say Ken Kaneki had likely snapped at some point was accurate.

Worst experience by far was when Yamori had forced him to choose between a man and a woman, both of whom were in love. Both of whom wanted the other to live. It was a choice Kaneki wouldn't-couldn't make. In the end, a fit of rage or excitement-he wasn't sure which-brought Yamori to kill them both. The torturer went to say it was Kaneki's fault and called him a hypocrite before taking his leave.

Every visit, Yamori seemed more insane. The man wanted to kill Kaneki, but he also couldn't if he wanted to keep his toy. At one point he had killed one of his subordinates so that he could resist killing Kaneki. If only temporarily.

_"You know, this guy has killed at least six people for you now. I don't know how you can live with yourself if you're not going to fight back. Given that you care and all... or was that a facade?"_

He was being taunted by a teigu and tortured by a psycho. During the fire he hadn't been capable of helping. When those guards had tried to apprehend him, he had power but no control. Then Yamori attacked and he didn't have the power anymore because he'd rejected it.

_"It would be like picking out the bad coffee beans. Make a good cup by taking out the bad, that's what you always said, right?"_

"You're right." He murmured quietly, for once responding to Takatsuki's words.

_"Oh? Then what are you going to do?"_

"I'll control the teigu. Then I'll take out the bad beans." Kaneki answered quietly, right before the door opened once more.

The so-called Rize smiled before disappearing as Yamori approached.

"You don't strike me as a superstitious type..." The man stated as he approached. "But I heard once that if you eat right you can get stronger. Like, if I were to eat another person, my blood would be thicker and it would make me harder to cut into."

He came to a stop in front of Kaneki, cracking his finger as he did so. "I've tried it before." His right hand was raised and the dark purple flesh encased the hand. "Maybe it was just the modifications I had that doctor do, but I feel I've been getting stronger with every person I ate. So, I believe that superstition."

"So you're a cannibal." Kaneki concluded dully, at this point Yamori simply couldn't surprise him really.

"Heh... That's right. You see, I've concluded one thing in this humans aren't meant to be cramped up in places like this. That's why crime is so abundant here in the Capital. Too many people in one place." A dry chuckle escaped Yamori. "We were meant to compete with each other."

"I wonder what kind of effect eating someone like you would have. Let's find out." The flesh clad hand reached for Kaneki. "Now you get to be out competed."

The sound of flesh being torn was clearly heard. There was blood on Kaneki's face and blood on Yamori's face. It wasn't Kaneki who lost blood however. Instead there was a hole in Yamori's cheek where Kaneki had taken a bite.

"... I haven't had much human flesh but you... really are bad. Like rotten fish guts."

For a long moment, Yamori stared at his torture victim. "You... took a bite... out of me?" He clenched his fist, for the first time since Kaneki knew him, angry. There was a move to punch the one in the chair, but something had changed drastically after Kaneki took that bite.

It only took that small bite to feel rejuvenated. No doubt the teigu's appreciation for the food in what had been quite a while now. But there was more to it than that, he felt stronger than he ever had before. Had accepting the teigu and just a bite of human flesh really changed so much?

Bracing himself, Kaneki forced his legs to straighten out, snapping the chair legs and allowing him to get his still cuffed hands away from the chair back. He then jumped up, avoiding Yamori's punch altogether. Kaneki wasn't down there however, flipping through the air so that the chain that cuffed his hands together wrapped around Yamori's throat.

Yamori wasn't about to die easily however and managed to reach up, grab Kaneki's hands and throw the would-be killer off his back.

Even so, Kaneki landed on his feet, feeling even more power now. His cuffs had been broken, allowing him to stretch out his arms. As he did so, taking note of the blood around Yamori's left ear where he had taken another bite.

Something that the large mad was just noticing. "You took another bite out of me?!"

Standing up straight for the first time since Yamori captured him, felt so much better than he ever thought it would. "... You tried to eat me. So if you get eaten... it is only fair. Right?"

"Have you gone insane?" Yamori demanded, racing up to Kaneki. Dark purple flesh had formed a patch over both of the bites that had been taken out of Yamori. Kaneki figured it had something to do with the modifications the torturer had mentioned.

Kaneki didn't flinch when Yamori grabbed him by face. "The Strong eat! Me! That's me! I'm the strong one here!" The anger was clear in Yamori's eyes.

Jerking his face out of Yamori's hand, Kaneki sent a flying foot towards the man's face. "Try it then."

Yamori caught the foot with ease. "Idiot. I won't let go even if it breaks."

Kaneki swung himself around in Yamori's grasp. A loud crack was heard as the bone broke. "I don't care if it breaks." His leg was twisting so much the skin visibly twisted. "You think I'd call this pain?" With that his free foot connected with Yamori's skull, sending the man flying back into the wall and forcing him to let go of the now horribly twisted leg.

Landing on the floor on his good foot Kaneki looked down at the twisted leg, watching as it twisted itself back into place before looking to where Yamori had landed. Right as the dust began to clear.

The dark purple flesh on Yamori's right arm had become bulkier, now displaying a set of talons instead of a hand with fingers. It also extended all the way up the arm and over the shoulder to the lower back. A helmet of some sort had also formed around Yamori's head, some tendrils of the flesh reaching into his mouth. Not a pretty sight by any means.

"I'll kill you. I'll kill you I'll kill you. Chew you... into a sloppy mess... and kill you!" Yamori had truly turned into a beast now, eve so the characteristic finger crack was heard. "I'll devour you to death!"

An odd little smile made its way to Kaneki's face, one of his eyes having taken on the red color the other remaining the usual gray. "... Yeah." He raised up his own right hand, folding the ring and pinky fingers in, cracking his index with his thumb much like Yamori creating a distinct crack, and holding up the middle in a one finger solute. "What a bother."

What had once been Yamori gave a roar no human could be capable doing. Then again, were either of them really human anymore?

The beast launched itself at Kaneki. Slashing out in the style of a berserker and dodged by Kaneki every time. When Kaneki jumped into the air, he recalled a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. Something forcing its way out of his back painlessly that took the form of two of the scaly sinister red, faintly glowing tentacles.

He directed the two tentacles at Yamori, right as the dark purple flesh. They went through, and Kaneki could see blood where he had hit before the flesh regrew. It seemed that the wounds didn't heal, or at least not like Kaneki's did. Instead the flesh grew over the wounds to prevent blood loss. A good technique, but if he managed to put enough power behind an attack that could pierce through the flesh and deep enough to get an organ, the fight could be over in one move.

Landing before Yamori, Kaneki whipped one of the tentacles overhead fast enough to both block and cut through the flesh, maybe some of the real arm as well. He hesitated just a moment to see if the attack had been enough. That hesitation proved a mistake on his part as the flesh on the arm regenerated and found a way through Kaneki's body. It would seem his attack had been too shallow.

The flesh arm swung him around before sending him flying across the room into a wall.

Kaneki got right back up. "... That... hurts..." As the dust cleared, Kaneki summoned two more tentacles. "My turn."

He watched Yamori carefully, thinking of a strategy. Tearing the flesh off wouldn't work if it kept regenerating. There wasn't an origin point from what he could see. If he was right about the wounds not regenerating, he might have something however. It could prove tiring but it might work.

All four tentacles lined up around Kaneki before he sped off towards Yamori. The moment he was in range he started a flurry of strikes into Yamori's gut, which wasn't protected by the purple flesh. Force from the blows carried both of them into a wall, the beast taking most of the impact. Even then Kaneki carried on with the attack, pushing Yamori through the wall and leaving a large gash in the structure.

When Kaneki relented he jumped to the floor, allowing Yamori to crash down ungracefully. Looking over his work, holes could be seen in Yamori's gut. Purple flesh was slowly growing over the wounds, much slower than it used to be. Despite the wounds however, the former man started to force himself up.

Narrowing his eyes, Kaneki ran at Yamori once more. Sending the tentacles ahead, willing them to be stronger and faster than they had been so far. Ripping was heard as the tentacles embedded themselves into the purple flesh. But he knew they'd gone deeper and reached the human flesh. Trusting the teigu, Kaneki jumped and reeled himself in using the tentacles, landing a solid kick on Yamori's face.

Looking down, he could see the tentacles had hit their mark around Yamori's neck. They hadn't been able to get deep enough to kill before being stopped by the purple flesh but it still served its purpose. He could feel with the tentacles that the purple flesh was growing softer, more human in strength.

Taking his foot off Yamori's face so he was standing on the man's chest, Kaneki tilted his head as he looked down at the dazed look of his torturer. "Now, I don't know that cannibalism is the way to strength for most people... but my teigu does love human flesh." He pounded on the side of his head. Still hearing that faint click in his head.

Each of the individual forty tiny legs was felt as the centipede exited his head via ear, covered in a variety of substances. "Even if it does taste like rotten fish guts apparently. So, I guess the question is, what is one thousand minus seven?"

_Rip._

_Break._

_Plunge._

_Crush._

_Tsk._

_Crack._

_Squelch._

_Twist._

_Tear._

_Slurp._

* * *

**White haired Kaneki is here now in all his finger-cracking glory. Sorry if it seemed rushed or anything. Yamori is now a dead experiment. Wonder whose experiment he was. Count yourselves lucky, I almost cut this chapter off at "What a bother." But then I was like: "But I want to kill someone!" thus, Yamori is dead by the end of chapter four. Unless you include the prologue, then it bumps up to the end of chapter five.**

**If anyone was wondering about the centipede's species, I changed it from Chinese to Ankheg since China doesn't exist in this universe. Another thing, if you're wondering, I did change the fight a bit so you guys didn't have to read a complete rewrite of everything.**

**Also, some of you might have noticed that when Kaneki had to choose who lived and who died, instead of following manga with mother and child I followed anime with two lovebirds. The reason for this is because I have plans for the mother and child. Plus, since we haven't seen Banjou (yet) there was no escape attempt where Kouto and Kei were involved. They will appear, just not yet.**

**For those of you confused by the previous paragraph, some characters are in the manga are in place of those in the anime and some characters that are in anime are in place of those in manga. Although that doesn't mean I won't use some of those swapped characters later on.**

**Wow, long AN... Well, review... something... Show me you care. Ask if you have any questions.**


	6. Little Blood

**Disclaimer: I own not Akame ga Kill nor do I own Tokyo Ghoul.**

**Warning: A little cannibalism and some eye balls.**

**Cuhar-Well, it will definitely be a challenge-for a character that is. As for being called a cannibal for the rest of the story or a ghoul, well, let's just say that our lovely teigu Takatsuki is known by many names.**

**blarg7856-Well Kaneki and the eventual co. will be venturing outside of the Capital for reasons that concerns our Danger Beast friends from time to time. I'm not just talking about Stylish's experiments either.**

**R-king 93-I try.**

**MathiasMatt-Glad you like it, and Amon huh? I suppose it did sound like that, didn't it?**

**ahsoei-In response to your first review, all I can say for now is, Takatsuki is very complicated. As for your second review, I did indeed stick mostly with the manga for the fight with some minor changes to fit the story. Did I imply there were more teigu that caused the user to turn cannibal? I know I mentioned the Anteiku Circle, human experimentation and Itori drank some blood. If I implied that there are more teigu that caused the user to turn cannibal it wasn't intentional-this time. Then Kaneki's eye... all I can say is that it is unique to him now.**

**Alzef-Thanks. I get what you mean about Tokyo Ghoul:Re, so many questions but still so few chapters. The third installment got me mad. I hate the Cookie.**

**john-Tatsumi hasn't even come to the Capital yet. Kaneki will eventually meet Tatsumi and of course Esdeath later on however, just not yet.**

**Alzef137-Ah yes, the Esdeath meeting... *Cackles.***

**So, I just want to remind everyone of where we are in the timeline since I took so long to get this chapter to you guys. We started with the prologue which takes place two months before the start of the Akame ga Kill anime/manga. That's about nine weeks and we're somewhere in week five now if my math is correct. Not to say I'll take forever to get to the end of the two months, I just want to get some more characters out in the next two or three chapters first.**

* * *

There had been quite a mixture of emotions as news of Yamori's death got out.

Many civilians had taken his death rather well. Since he was known to take people off the street at random. It had been just plain dangerous to be out at the same time as Yamori. Now there were those that felt a bit safer knowing that the man was dead. Even if the death was partially shrouded in mystery and grisly.

Not all civilians were happy to hear of the death of the captain however. The simple reason being, he'd been killed by an unknown. There was no evidence of the killer other than Yamori's half-eaten corpse to make things worse. A cannibal, a strong cannibal, was out there somewhere. Who knew what the unknown would go after next?

As for those of higher a ranking in politics and military standing, well they started to develop an idea of what had happened. Yamori had been looking for a killer with a red eye that could supposedly regenerate and summon tentacles. Assuredly a teigu user or at the very least a human experiment. Then Yamori stopped looking and started spending the majority of his time in his hobby room. About ten days after however, the man had disappeared completely and when someone had taken the risk of checking the hobby room, a rotting half eaten corpse had been found.

* * *

Not everyone had decided on exactly how they felt about the death of Yamori. Among them a girl known as Hinami.

After Kaneki had told her to go back to the shop and promised he'd come back for her, she had done as instructed. Running back to the coffee shop Anteiku. The manager had been the one to greet her, an older man with graying hair wearing the male Anteiku staff attire. After explaining what had happened in one of the shop's back rooms to the man and some of his staff, he'd offered her a place to stay at temporarily.

Twelve days passed with no news of Kaneki or the man that had killed her parents. She had been holding Kaneki to his word and giving him two weeks. Even so she'd been getting anxious since the one week mark. On the thirteenth day, news of Yamori's death had spread like wildfire, apparently having been missing for three days previous. But there was no word on Kaneki still.

That made this day the fourteenth, the last day.

There was a knock on the door. "Hinami, I'm coming in."

The back of Anteiku was surprisingly large with several rooms, a few of them for guests. Hinami had been practically living in one of those rooms for nearly two weeks now. Normally the rooms were to hide someone while they were being hunted by some faction for one reason or another. Since it was unknown if Yamori had been looking for her, she was one of those hidden in Anteiku. In the end, all things seemed to lead back to the coffee shop.

A click was heard as the door opened and a girl in her late teens entered the room. She had short dark blue hair and dark blue eyes, the right of which was hidden by the girl's bangs. Her clothes were that of a female Anteiku employee, consisting of a white shirt, black skirt, black vest, black tights and a dusty gray-red tie. For Hinami however, it was the familiar face of Touka Kirishima.

Touka's eyes swept over the room, coming to a pause on Hinami-who was sitting on a couch-before traveling down and coming to a halt on a half-empty coffee cup. A frown tugged at the older girl's lips as she closed the door behind her before approaching Hinami and taking a seat on the couch. "If you won't eat you could at least finish the coffee."

Hinami looked down, a little embarrassed for not having finished the coffee she'd been given two hours ago. "Sorry..."

"Still worrying about that Kaneki guy?" Touka released a sigh before leaning back against the couch. "If the manager says he'll come, I'm sure he will."

* * *

_Meanwhile, in front of Anteiku_

Stopping outside Anteiku, was two hooded figures. One was a bit below the average height for an adult. The other was smaller in height, a child most likely. Nodding after confirming that the shop was Anteiku, the taller figure took the smaller's hand before entering the coffee shop. There wasn't even a pause as they approached the counter so they were facing Enji Koma, one of the more known Anteiku employees.

The man raised a brow that the pair as he dried a coffee cup. "Looking for the manager I assume?"

"Yes." A female voice came from the taller figure. "He's here, right?"

Koma placed the cup down on the counter and sighed before scratching the back of his head. "I'm not sure how much help we'll be able to provide, we're stretched pretty thin at the moment." He warned, but noticing the taller figure clenched the smaller figure's hand he continued. "He was just heading back to check on one of our guests."

"Thank you." The female murmured before tugging on the smaller's hand and heading through the back door into the inner workings of the shop. At least there were only a few others in the main part of the shop to witness the exchange.

The pair hadn't had to travel back far before coming across the man they'd been looking for. A middle-aged man with gray, almost white, hair combed back. His outfit varied a from regular Anteiku staff in that he wore brown slacks and a white dress shirt with a dark gray vest that had white pinstripes. His eyes were seemingly closed, but even so he still saw the pair and offered a small smile. "Ah, Kei, Kouto. Is something wrong?"

Pulling the hood down, the taller figure was revealed to be a woman. There was a saddened, maybe grieving, air around her. She had brown shoulder length hair and dark brown eyes. "Yoshimura... I'm sorry to come to you at a time like this, but I didn't know where else to go!" For a moment she seemed to bite her tongue to try and reign in her emotions. "... They think he's a traitor... they tried to take all three of us but he held them off..."

A hand placed on the woman's shoulder seemed to calm her down slightly. "I see... I'm sorry for your loss Kei. But at least you and Kouto are safe."

Kei gave a small, weak nod of acceptance. Tears were resting in the corners of her eyes as she struggled to hold them in. "I hate to impose... but... we don't have anywhere else to go... You don't even have to take me, as long as Kouto is safe."

Yoshimura raised a hand to his chin in a thoughtful manner. The man looked slightly troubled by the situation. "I'm afraid that's a problem right now. The numbers of people hiding have grown considerably over the last few weeks." Before the woman could freak out, he continued. "Even so, I will find something. It is the least I could do, your husband was a good man."

Before anything more could be said however, the door back to the shop was slammed open and an eager Koma was at fault. The man didn't seem to care if the door dented the wall or not however and had a huge grin on his face. "He's back!" He glanced back and gestured for someone to enter the hall.

The newcomer entered the hall with Koma closing the door behind them. He had white hair and a dark gray eye. His left eye had been hidden by a white medical eye patch. For dress he wore a white dress shirt and black slacks. One of the noticeably odd traits aside from the eye patch was his nails, they were black. More importantly, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the one Yamori had taken nearly two weeks ago. Far too uncanny to be a coincidence despite some differences.

This, was Kaneki.

* * *

After escaping Yamori's Lair, Kaneki had learned ten days had passed since his capture. It had been the middle of the night and no one seemed to have spotted him. So, he went to the one place he'd been taking shelter in since the fire. The underground bunker of the Kamishiro Estate. Even nearly five weeks later, no one had tried to take the property.

Then again, it had been Rize's home. That woman had caused enough trouble to the point where very few would even consider taking the land. They evaded it like the plague. At some points the bodies had been removed and the staff quarters had come crashing down. Already it was beginning to look overgrown with the lack of maintenance. Even so, the entrance to the bunker was still something he could find.

The bunker had food rations, some weapons, medical supplies, spare clothes and even some sleeping quarters. Actually, it bore more resemblance to a windless multi-roomed apartment more than anything. Not like he had much use of the food rations anymore though since regular food didn't do anything for him anymore. It was a bit of a surprise it was regular food only, but then again stocking human flesh was just begging for trouble. Besides, she had always liked fresh meat.

For the past few days he'd been laying low, resting and planning.

Seeing as Yamori had truly identified him upon seeing his eye turn red, Kaneki had gotten a medical eye patch to cover that eye. He wasn't normally able to control it's changing of colors so this made for a good compromise. Then there was a matter of hiding his face when acting. For that he had taken a trip to a mask shop that also served as one of the Anteiku Circle's bases.

To explain the Anteiku Circle a bit, it was somewhat of a criminal organization. Only, it was more of a peace-loving version. It reached through the entirety of the Capital. Naturally it couldn't all be run out of a single coffee shop however. For the Circle, the Capital had been divided into twenty four sections, Wards as they were called. In each ward there was a base, Anteiku was the base in the Twentieth Ward as well as the residing ruler over all other wards and bases.

The mask shop, was a place called HySy and was the base in the Fourth Ward. In charge over there was a bit of a strange man named Uta. One of the more openly cannibalistic people one could come across, even occasionally offering an eye ball. He wasn't all bad, if you gave him a chance, didn't mind cannibalism, or tattoos, or the often odd questions he asked.

Kaneki had only met Uta a few times in the past. Even so the man had recognized him despite the changes he'd undergone recently. After the man had agreed to make Kaneki a mask and asked some odd questions that would help the creation of the mask, there was only one thing left for Kaneki to do.

He'd promised Hinami he'd come in two weeks tops. Ten days had been lost to Yamori and three had been spent resting and planning. It wouldn't be good of him to make her or the Anteiku staff wait much longer.

This is how he'd come to be in a hallway with Yoshimura, Koma, a woman that looked vaguely familiar and a short figure hidden by the hood of their cloak.

"Ah, Kaneki." Yoshimura seemed to be looking at him carefully, no doubt taking in the changes of his appearance. "Glad to see you made it back."

"Nice to see you again, manager." Kaneki greeted with a small dip of the head. After he'd started working for Rize he hadn't seen the manager much and after Rize had done a bit of a hostile takeover of the Eleventh Ward, they'd seen each other even less. He had played no part in the takeover that occurred only two years ago himself, even so it may have strained their relationship a bit.

It had been a bit painful for Kaneki himself as Yoshimura had been a bit of a grandfather figure. After Kaneki's mother died, the manager had taken in the at the time ten year old under his wing. Then when the apartment had burned down he'd given the boy a place to stay. He'd even taught Kaneki how to make a good cup of coffee. When Rize came along, things had changed.

"Relax Kaneki." Yoshimura offered a smile that said he wasn't holding anything against Kaneki. "Actually..." He glanced towards the woman and what was likely her child before looking at Kaneki once more. "I believe I have a deal where we both could benefit."

* * *

_Later_

A knock on the door drew Hinami and Touka out of a silence they'd fallen into. One of many since Touka's arrival.

First to enter the room was Anteiku's manager, Yoshimura. The second person to follow was vaguely familiar to Touka but she couldn't remember where she knew him from. She actually couldn't remember meeting someone with white hair like him before. Yet he still looked familiar, maybe he dyed his hair a different color or something... her father had always kept odd company in the past.

The identity of the stranger was revealed when Hinami looked at the newcomers herself, a small gasp escaping her as she jumped up to her feet in a display of energy Touka had yet to see from the girl since her arrival. "Onii-chan!" She'd bolted to the white haired boy and hugged him.

So that made the white haired stranger the infamous Kaneki then. She'd heard about him from the long-time staff members of Anteiku and Hinami knew him too. The younger girl had even taken to referring to him as "Onii-chan" over the past couple weeks. It was odd in her opinion given that the two hadn't known each other for long before Yamori attacked.

A hand with black nails ruffled the girl's hair. "Hina, I'm glad to see you're all right."

Hinami looked up at her savior with tear-filled eyes. That's when she seemed to notice something off. "Your hair isn't black anymore... and your eye..."

"Oh, you mean this?" Kaneki tapped the medical eye patch over his left eye. "It's nothing." He smiled and even lifted the eye patch to reveal a perfectly fine looking eye. "I'm fine. Now I'm going to carry out my promise to your father and do what your mother told me to do."

The girl blinked her tear-filled eyes, a few drops escaping her and sliding down her cheeks. "But where..."

"The Eleventh Ward." It was Yoshimura who spoke this time, a kind smile on his face. "With Rize gone, it was returned to the Anteiku Circle. Kaneki here will be watching over things there from now on."

It all clicked together in Touka's mind where she'd seen him before. She couldn't help but feel a bit of rage towards him. The _only_ survivor of the Kamishiro Fire. Her fists clenched and she gritted her teeth. "You're the bastard." There was no stopping the words as she sent a glare towards Kaneki.

The young man blinked, looking at her confused. "What-"

"You're the one that survived the fire!" Touka snapped, glaring daggers through the white haired boy. With that she promptly stormed out of the room, leaving Kaneki and Hinami confused and worried while Yoshimura sighed sadly.

"You'll have to forgive Touka. Her father died in that fire." The older man explained to Kaneki sadly. "Her brother ran off after that. I've been keeping an eye on her like I did for you but-"

"I see." Kaneki cut off Yoshimura, a sad smile on his face. "I think I can understand a bit... I actually shouldn't be alive right now and instead of saving someone with family, I was saved instead..." He remembered seeing Touka briefly once, not long before the fire. She'd been seeing her father, Arata Kirishima, about something. It wasn't something most would remember on sight.

"Onii-chan...?" Hinami spoke up, looking at Kaneki worriedly.

Kaneki blinked, looking at Hinami. "When did you start calling me that?"

"U-uh... well..." The girl looked down, a bit flustered.

A chuckle escaped Kaneki and he patted the girl's head. "It's fine." He then turned his attention to Yoshimura. "I guess we'll be leaving now."

* * *

_Night, Fourth Ward_

On the way out of Anteiku, Kaneki had noticed a new bookshop that had opened up next door to Anteiku. It was called Booknight, although it was closed at the moment. Maybe he'd check it out at a later time.

But before he took Kei, Kouto and Hinami back to the Kamishiro Estate, there was something that had to be done.

Get masks.

It wasn't so bad for Kaneki. He had to pick up his mask anyways. Kei, her son Kouto and Hinami would be getting questioned for allergies, likes and dislikes. All part of Uta's process when it came to making masks. Now, he had no intention of making the three act under him. This was merely a precaution to keep their identities hidden.

"So, do you like clovers?" A very pale man covered in tattoos and piercings questioned Hinami, who was sitting on a stool. He had black hair all combed over the right side of his head and some tied back. Clothing wise he wore a gray tank top with a black jacket and dark gray pants. One of his more apparent features was that he had red eyes, not like Kaneki's left when the sclera turned black and the pupil red. Just the pupils were red, somewhat reminiscent of the Night Raid assassin Akame.

"Um... yeah." Hinami reached up to touch her headband, which had a clover decoration.

The man nodded thoughtfully, writing something down on his notepad. This was Uta, the man in charge of the Fourth Ward in the Anteiku Circle and the main supplier of masks for those both in and out of said circle. Maybe while the man got to know Hinami, Kei and Kouto he could head out and get something to eat.

It was almost like Uta had read his mind. "Kaneki, would you like an eye?" The pale man held out a hand where an eyeball rested. "They're quite tasty."

Poor Hinami seemed to shrink a little at the sight.

"No thank you, Uta. I was just going to get something for myself. Maybe try out the mask you made." Kaneki said, offering Hinami a comforting smile. "I'll be back soon, don't worry about Uta, he won't hurt you."

"Tell me how the mask feels when you get back." Uta waved absently, seemingly uncaring about Hinami's new found fears involving him. Honestly, there were times where you left the eyeball in your pocket.

"Yeah, I'll let you know." Kaneki stated before turning to the door, nodding to Kei and Kouto as he took out the mask Uta had made for him.

Once out of the shop, he went to an ally to put on the mask. It wasn't good to leave the shop with the mask on, then he might be sighted and the authorities would converge on Uta.

Kaneki had to admit, it was an unusual mask. It was leather and black, covering part of his neck and going over his nose. The only marking feature was the mask's red lips that lined a huge toothy grin. Between the two sets of the mask's teeth was a functioning zipper. Then instead of the medical eye patch over his left eye, there was a large black patch over his right eye, which always remained gray. The reason for this was to make it seem like the red eye was his actual eye normally.

Of course, it only changed color when he used the teigu or when the smell of blood woke up his hunger. If he was sighted however it would likely be by his victim to be anyways. The fact he was doing this at night added a bonus as well. Most crime in the Capital (if you excluded pick pocketing and swindling) only occurred at night. So he could target someone that had it coming to them anyways.

By no means did he enjoy eating people. But he'd come to accept the necessity so he'd be able to fight.

He'd climbed up onto a roof and waited. The sound he was waiting for would inevitably occur. With his hearing having become better, likely because of the teigu, it wouldn't be a hard sound for him to miss. Sure enough, the sound came, conveniently close too.

Breaking glass.

Kaneki ran along the rooftops until he caught the very faint smell of blood. The culprit must have cut himself on the glass. He jumped down to the streets and went straight to the source. It appeared to be a jewelry shop that had been broken into. Theft was still in progress. By no means was Kaneki going to try to be a hero here.

The man didn't even get a chance to see Kaneki. His head was snapped off by a sinister red glowing tentacle. Blood was spattered across the main counter and the head rolled under a table. Something pleasant to find in the morning no doubt. Just like that, he had his midnight snack. There was no doubt in his mind that the left eye had turned red with the use of the teigu and stayed that way at the prospect of a meal.

Only an arm was left for Kaneki to eat as he walked back to HySy, Uta's mask shop. The arm was in his left hand while in his right were the man's eyes. By no means did Kaneki intend to eat the eyes, they were for Uta since normally the mask maker would've been out hunting by now. It was to make up for the trouble they'd caused.

He went off course however upon hearing someone scream. It was out of curiosity that he went to see what was going on. He got there just in time to see a man get a single cut on the arm. What looked like curse marks spread from the cut and the man was dead in seconds. The blade must've been poisonous.

In fact, the sight of the one wielding the blade practically confirmed it when his one red eye met a pair of naturally red eyes.

* * *

**So... total plot twist, what if it was Touka's father Kaneki had eaten? O.O Am I really that cruel?**

**...**

**Heheh, you can decide that for yourselves. Anyways, so we finally find Touka. Kei and Kouto are under Kaneki's watch in the Eleventh Ward, so is Hinami but that was probably expected. How does it go? Every badass needs a loli? Then the mysterious bookshop Booknight that just so happens to be next door to Anteiku that Kaneki plans to check out another time. We met Uta, enjoying an eyeball, Hinami's getting a mask... for emergencies... she totally won't need it... *Shifty eyes.* Then Kaneki goes out for a hunt only to meet another red-eyed killer.**

**Review, something... I dunno. Give me an idea of what I should work on here. All feedback is appreciated, hopefully we'll start getting a bit more action in the next chapter.**


	7. Blood on the Streets

**Disclaimer: ... I own nothing.**

**Warning: CBG (Cannibalism Blood Guts)**

**Cuhar-Thank you kindly. :P**

**R-king 93-Thanks for reading.**

**Alzef123-Red eyed cannibal meets red eyed assassin. Both teigu users too. Someone might have to intervene. Leone hmm... you make a valid point. As for Tokyo Ghoul: Re, fourth chapter serves to aggravate me. Curse the cliffhangers. It makes me want to punch someone. *Hits head on wall.* I'll have to let the characters to the punching here.**

**MathiasMatt-*Cue Nidorino-Akame and Gengar-Kaneki fighting scene.* (Might have to write a one-shot for that now.) Well, killing off Akame or Kaneki probably isn't an option here... so I don't think anyone will die at the very least. As for Anteiku, it already kind of was a crime ring in Tokyo Ghoul, but here we have it more wide-spread and as the ring-leader of sorts.**

**Aaveragedude01-Funny that you posted a review mere hours before I post a new chapter.**

* * *

For a long moment, it was just a stare down.

The one that had killed the man was a girl. She had long black hair and recognizably red eyes. Like her wanted posters depicted, she wore a sleeveless black mini dress that had a white collar with a red tie. Over the skirt of the dress was a red belt that half a red skirt hung from, also hanging from the belt was a red sheath for a katana. Black socks reached almost to her knees and over them was a simple pair of black shoes. Her hands were clad in black gloves with red gauntlets.

However Kaneki was more focused on the girl's katana. The infamous Murasame, the one cut killer. The smallest nick had brought death to many. There was no doubt in his mind that the girl was Akame, a Night Raid assassin.

Much like Kaneki, the girl wasn't focusing on his appearance as much as she was focusing on what he held. Someone's arm and then she could only tell that the other hand was holding something. There was no sign of a weapon on the masked stranger that had clearly killed someone if the blood on the mask's teeth was any indication. Something about him screamed danger in her mind.

Seemingly coming to a decision the girl raised her blade so it was pointed at Kaneki. "You won't be leaving."

Kaneki's one visible eye narrowed. "I have some questions for you and your lot anyways." He raised his right hand, dropping the eyes he'd held onto the ground as he cracked his index finger with his thumb, allowing for a distinct crack to be heard. The arm in his left hand was dropped as well.

He knew running wouldn't do much good in this scenario. There was also a chance he couldn't handle her. No way was he about to lead her back to Uta's shop. Truth was, he hadn't fully tested out his abilities yet with the addition of Takatsuki's boost. It was also hard to say where the girl was in level of skill. Night Raid only had rumors in the Anteiku Circle since they seemed to operate differently from most underground groups in the Capital. While Akame was a known former member of the Imperial Assassins, not much else about her was known.

_"I can't allow myself to be cut by that blade either." _Kaneki thought to himself, knowing he'd probably have to block using his own teigu.

_"Haven't seen Murasame in a long time..." _There was a voice that had been absent the last few days.

_"You've encountered that teigu before?" _His eyes were focused on the assassin, waiting for her to make the first move. He'd have to cut the thought conversation off when she made a move.

_"And it's lovely poison, yes." _Takatsuki confirmed, she sounded a bit absent minded.

How would the poison effect the teigu anyways? _"Can you even handle that poison?"_

_"Well, I'll survive, hard to kill and technically just a dead danger beast whose mentality survived and lived on even after being made into a teigu... not sure if the healing factor could save _you _though if you were nicked."_

_"Then I'd rather not find out."_ Kaneki concluded, just in time as the katana user sped forward.

The sudden burst of speed took him off guard a bit but even so he managed to duck under the blade and sent a punch up towards the arm holding the offending blade. Before he could make contact however she jumped and pulled her arm out of the way, landing behind him in an attempt to make a strike to his back. He expected it however and side-stepped the attack, attempting to counter with a kick to her side which she managed to avoid by grinding her heel into the stone and kicking off.

One obvious thing was occurring. Both of them were holding back. The short exchange had just been attempts at gauging the others' ability.

For Akame, that hadn't been the initial intent but upon getting a closer look at the masked enemy, she developed a sense of caution. Something wasn't quite right with this opponent. It was almost like the feeling she got when facing off against another teigu user, a sense of life or death with every move and breath.

On Kaneki's side of the fight, he truly hadn't been certain about where the other's ability compared to his own. Given that he hadn't fully tested himself yet, it warranted some caution. But now that he had some idea of where she was, even though she'd been holding back, he was ready to take this more seriously. He could already feel a slight squirming at his back, the teigu eagerly awaiting release and action.

Reaching up, Kaneki unzipped the teeth of his mask, revealing his real mouth. "Are we done testing each other then?"

The hardened resolve in the girl's eyes was answer enough as she once more raised her blade.

This time Kaneki took the initiative, bolting forward. Akame didn't sit and wait though, seemingly disappearing only to reappear behind his back. She struck down with Murasame, intending to cut her opponent in half, but something stopped her. Something that was in a sinister shade of red, glowing faintly and scaly. Caught off guard, she didn't react in time to stop something from slamming into her and knocking her back.

Even so, Akame landed on her feet with only some difficulty. Her shoes bringing up dust as they helped her skid to a stop and forcing her to use her free hand for support. The red eyed assassin then looked to her opponent to see what had stopped her. She didn't get the chance however as she had to jump to the side several times, each time her previous position getting smashed into by that red thing again and sending fragments of stone flying. It didn't take looking at what was attacking know it wasn't an average weapon.

With the assault paused, she got a look at what had nearly gotten her. The sight made her eyes widen slightly, not much, but slightly. What appeared to be tentacles were coming out of his back, two of them, scaly and glowing faintly a sinister red. It looked like Murasame hadn't even left a cut in the tentacles. If she had to guess, that was a teigu which would explain the sense of danger she'd been getting. She couldn't afford to play around, there was no telling if the teigu was capable of anything else.

Looking slightly to the side but making sure not to take her eyes off her opponent so she could look at the series of small craters the tentacles had created on impact. They were definitely strong to have been able to do that, she even felt a bit of that strength herself when she had been hit in the side, something she was sure would have a bruise by the time she would be able to check it herself. Focusing on the tentacles, she noted that both ended in a very pointed looking tip.

Both combatants moved at the same moment. Meeting in the middle of what was becoming a battlefield With Kaneki's tentacles going towards Akame like spearheads and the girl trying to block the attack with her sword. Instead what happened was the two tentacles wrapped around the sword, immobilizing the weapon she dared not let go for fear of it getting used against her. There was a chance they could be compatible, since he had seemed to respect the swords dangerous side more than anything from the way he fought.

The white haired fighter hadn't stopped moving there however and it was a second too late when she noticed the literally blood-thirsty, crazed look in his eyes. He wasn't quite as calm as he had been when this had started. What she felt was teeth digging into her left shoulder and had she not reacted, she knew a chunk of her shoulder would be lost. She put all the strength she could into moving her sword arm forward and would've grazed him if he hadn't let go and jumped back.

She could feel the pain in her shoulder, he'd bit down pretty deep. It would take weeks to heal if she got out of this. Looking at her opponent, she could see him zipping the mouth of his mask, seemingly coming out of his blood-craving state as he shook his head slightly. There were cuts on the tentacles from where they'd been holding Murasame, so she could cut them apparently. But then she noticed the cuts were healing, which would suggest is was at least a semi-biologic teigu. That was around when she realized she was already breathing fairly heavily and so was he. At the rate they were going, they'd both die there.

In hindsight, she shouldn't have engaged with the apparent cannibalistic teigu user when he wasn't even a target. But instinct had deemed him a danger practically on sight and now she knew why. She hadn't known he was a teigu user, or a cannibal (although the arm he'd been carrying should've been a hint) and she certainly hadn't expected him to be on a level similar to her. Which made him all the more dangerous.

Something had changed however, his eye shifted slightly to the side down one of the streets that lead to the small square they were in.

Following his gaze, she mentally berated herself for failing to hear them approach.

A rather large group of Imperial Guards were nearing the battle zone. Probably because of the scream her target had let out earlier.

"Call it a draw?" The one-eyed teigu user suggested, returning his gaze to his opponent.

Hesitantly she sheathed her blade, nodding slightly. One last glance towards the guards revealed they had spotted the two fighters and had frozen at the sight. Gripping her injured shoulder, Akame made for the opposite street. A final glance at her former opponent allowed her to witness the _pleasant_ sight of him grabbing the arm he'd dropped and biting one of the fingers off as he ran down another street.

* * *

_A few days later_

In the end, Kaneki's fight with Akame had done more harm than good. The good news was, he learned Uta's mask his identity just fine. Bad news was, his alter ego whom people had taken to calling "One Eye" got his masked face plastered all over the Capital not unlike the known Night Raid members. He shouldn't have gone back for the arm and he ended up forgetting the eyes, which connected him to the "Jewelry Thief Murder" since what had been missing from the dead man had been the eyes, an arm and a couple over body parts assumed to have been eaten.

Apparently someone had seen him try to take a bite out of Akame, a majority of the guards had probably also seen him eat that finger. Not like they gave chase though, apparently they'd found the sight both horrifying and terrifying. Either way, he got away. That night could have gone better with no one but the jewel thief possibly seeing him. Instead he had to hear a scream.

This brought Kaneki to the present however. Walking down the street to Anteiku.

Now that Kei, Kouto and Hinami were settling in at the bunker under the Kamishiro Estate, it was time to start thinking of a plan. Yoshimura had pretty much put him in charge of the Eleventh Ward now that Rize was gone and therefore her hold over the Ward. The woman had essentially lead a hostile takeover two years ago and taken control over that particular area. With her gone, it could return to the Anteiku Circle.

If only some of the others could be brought back into the Circle, then things could be moderately peaceful. Instead, the Thirteenth Ward had gone haywire and, as it stood right now, was uncontrollable. Wards One, Two and Three were a lot more heavily secured by the Imperial Guard these days which had at one point or another forced abandonment of those areas. The Twenty Third Ward wasn't much good either, never had been as the Capital's prison stood tall, imposing and heavily guarded naturally.

As he pondered about the different Wards, Kaneki found himself pausing by the shop he'd noticed next to Anteiku during his last visit. Only difference was, the apparent owner was present and the shop was open.

The owner of the bookshop Booknight stood just outside the shop sweeping out some dust. He had short green hair and matching green eyes with a pair a red goggles sitting on his head. If Kaneki had to guess he'd say the guy was in his late teens. For clothes he wore a white high-collared button-up shirt, a pair of red finger-less gloves with some beige pants and a black apron over it all.

Had Kaneki been more subtle or continued to Anteiku, he might've gone unnoticed.

"Ah... can I help you with something?"

Kaneki offered a sheepish smile and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, I was just on my way to Anteiku and was wondering when a bookshop appeared next to it."

"Ah." A chuckle escaped the green haired man as he propped the broom against the side of his shop. "Just a couple weeks ago." His eyes seemed to be lingering on the medical eye patch Kaneki was wearing. Not a surprise given that eye patches weren't exactly common and then there was all the commotion One Eye had caused a few days ago.

Even so, it was best to clear up whatever suspicion he could. "Chronic eye infections in this one." Kaneki tapped the patch for emphasis.

"Oh! Uh... sorry for staring!" The shop owner quickly apologized, even going as far as bowing his head.

"Don't worry, it happens." He offered his hand to show no ill will. "Kaneki."

There was a surprised blink before the green haired guy took his hand. "Lubo."

Kaneki glanced towards Anteiku, the sun was already getting pretty close to meeting the horizon. "I should get going, but maybe I could stop by another time. I'm kind of out of books." This much was true thanks to the fire. Of course, he'd need time to start reading again, which is something he hadn't had time for in quite a while.

Lubo nodded picking up his broom. "You do that. Business is kind of dead so I wouldn't mind." Raising a hand in farewell the man disappeared into his shop.

That last statement seemed kind of odd given that the bookshop was right next to a coffee shop where, more often than not, people went to read. Although given that the shop was relatively new and Lubo seemed to work some odd hours, maybe it wasn't that odd.

Shaking his head Kaneki dismissed the thoughts and walked on to Ankteiku. Just before he could enter the shop the girl that hated him stepped out, Touka, is he remembered correctly. He was on the receiving end of a fierce glare when she noticed him before she went on her way.

Why did he get the feeling that she would hit him at some point?

* * *

_A little later, sunset_

Some pinkish orange hair fluttered slightly as a breeze picked up. The hair didn't seem quite natural in that it seemed to come from the mask the female figure wore. Which meant it was a cover for the real hair and just part of the disguise. For the mask, it was in the form of a rabbit's face and was completely white. She wore a hooded purple coat with a pair of white slacks.

She was crouched motionlessly on a roof, waiting.

Sure enough girl was heard yelling for someone to get off her.

In the Capital, one didn't have to wait until dark for drunks to start causing problems. The bars and taverns were serving alcohol all the time to all ages and residents of the city took full advantage of that fact.

Getting up and hopping a few rooftops, Rabbit was soon standing over an alleyway where a large, muscular man had pinned a girl to the wall of a building. Literally pinned, with knives pinning her clothes in place and one of the man's big beefy hands keeping her arms above her head while the over hand was feeling up the girl's lower regions.

Rabbit clenched her fists, turning slightly only to swing her left arm pointing at the man. What looked suspiciously like red crystal flew out of Rabbit's sleeve, some knocking into the knives keeping the girl in place, a few nailing the man's arms and forcing him to let go and some extra "crystals" managing to hit the man's back.

The man let out a holler of pain before looking up to see who had interrupted only to get a face full of shoe that sent a few teeth flying. He staggered back a bit and almost fell but somehow managed to fix his balance. "Fho the tell arp yo?!" His speech was impaired thanks to the kick, but the words roughly translated into something like: "Who the hell are you?!"

Instead of speaking, another of the so-called crystals slid out of Rabbit's sleeve into her hand. This time she was holding it, much like how one might knife. Before the man could react, with some stunning speed she was in front of him and swept his legs out from under him using her right leg. There was no time for him to recover, as the next moment she stabbed the crystal into the man's gut repeatedly.

With each new stab a bit of flesh and blood would go flying, some of the human pulp landing on her mask and clothes. Some bits even became tangled in her hair even. At one point the intestines got pulled out and stabbed through multiple times in plain view as well. By the time Rabbit was done, the spine was visible, covered in the pulp.

Dropping the crystal, Rabbit stood, drenched in blood and whatever else had flown onto her. She was nearly covered head to toe. Although miraculously one could still tell the mask was supposed to be white.

Her breathing was labored from the act of pure aggression she'd just displayed. "You're safe now..." Turning to look, Rabbit found that the girl had escaped during the carnage. After staring a moment, the rabbit sighed.

* * *

**So we finally got Night Raid making appearance. Before anyone asks, Booknight will be visited periodically. I decided to give the bookshop more purpose here. Then we also got a little Rabbit action at the end... wonder who that was...**

**Alright, saying right now that I'm not sure how well I can manage a fight scene. If you think it needs work, tell me somehow. You know, feedback.**


	8. To Speak of Blood

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Ghoul or Akame ga Kill, just the pizza and Coca-Cola I consumed in the three hours it took me to write this chapter.**

**Warning: Mentions of cannibalism. This is actually going to be a more docile chapter.**

**R-king 93-I would hope so. There's more to add however before we get to the point where Tatsumi joins the mix.**

**Cuhar-That will depend entirely on the Rabbit's actions and if she gets spotted in the hypothetical act. We have no proof that Rabbit is a cannibal, she just bludgeoned a guy to death.**

**MathiasMatt-"Akame used Poison Jab but foe Kaneki dodged!" XD Alright, I definitely need to write a one shot for this now. I already have a cover. Anyways, we got time to see how Kaneki and Lubbock interact without either knowing about the other's activities.**

**Kaioo-Hmm... normally. But I've come to the conclusion that unless both fighters have the intent to kill, there's a chance for both to survive to fight another day. In this case, Akame came with the intent to kill but Kaneki had stated he had questions meaning he didn't have plans to kill (yet). Then there was also the timely intervention of the Imperial Guards, at which point both seemed to conclude that they would fight another day.**

* * *

The bunker he and his charges had been taking shelter in was near impossible for newcomers to find. This was because the entrance was partially buried under the rubble of the mansion. It wasn't like he was trespassing either, since Yoshimura supplied the finances to pay for the property. Which actually didn't cost that much since no one else was willing to buy thanks to Rize.

It wasn't exactly a visited place either so Kaneki hadn't put much thought into walking through the rubble. He had business in town, which wasn't all that unusual these days. Getting a cup of coffee had become almost a daily chore and half of those cups of coffee were accompanied by glares from Touka. Sometimes before or after a cup of coffee he'd stop by Booknight to look for books that peaked his interest. Which was usually accompanied with an interesting conversation with Lubo.

Seeing someone standing on the main walkway, staring at the once proud structures, threw him fora bit of a loop.

It was a rather tall looking man with brown hair that was mostly brush back with a couple of spikes sticking up. He wore an armored plate over his chest reminiscent of an Imperial Guard, however his was darker and underneath he had a tee shirt, maybe a soldier. A sword hung by his side. There was also a short but distinct beard that curled around the chin and didn't quite meet at the top. The look in his eyes at the sight of what had been Rize's home was that of disbelief.

Kaneki would've tried to dodge out of the man's sight but it was too late.

"Hey! You!" The stranger called out to the white haired inhabitant, waving an arm to gain further attention.

There was some silent berating for not paying attention to his surroundings. Kaneki then approached reluctantly, already forming an idea of what the guy was thinking.

For the moment, the one eyed man eater would play innocent. "Can I help you with something?"

"What are you doing in a place like this?" The man narrowed his eyes at the one acting like he owned the property.

"I could ask you the same." There was a chill in Kaneki's voice that caused the man to stiffen slightly. "But if you must know, I live here."

"I came here looking for Rize." One of the man's hands curled into a fist. His gaze traveling over the ruins of the estate. "Where is she?"

It was almost exactly what Kaneki had expected. Even so, the name brought a faint hint of sorrow to him. He hadn't been acting like it much since the fire, but he really had liked Rize. She'd been someone important in his life. In the end, he'd come to accept the fact of what happened. "She died."

The man looked about to deny Kaneki's statement, taking an almost threatening step forward. Then he paused, eyes traveling to the remains of what had been Rize's home. Weeds had started growing in the mess. His anger seemed to dissipate a little at the sight. Both of his hands clenched into fists. "What happened? Who are you?"

Kaneki looked at the man silently, trying to gauge how much he should say. "There was a fire, a lot of people died. I'm Kaneki, I used to work for Miss Rize and I somehow survived." He left out the part about the gruesome murders, mostly because some denied that there was any murder. If the man really wanted to know he could ask around and hear all the rumors for himself.

"A fire...?"

Glancing back to look at the rubble, Kaneki found himself releasing a sad sigh. "Yeah." He then returned his gaze to the man. "I don't believe I caught your name." Kaneki held out a gloved hand, the gloves mostly just to hide his black nails.

There was only a little hesitation before the man took his hand. "Banjou."

"Well Banjou, if you ever want to know more I'm often here but right now I need to be going." Kaneki offered a small smile before stepping around the rather large man and going on his way.

* * *

_Later, Booknight_

"So, the guy is the egg and the mother is the black goat?"

"Simplified, yes." Kaneki nodded in confirmation, leaning back against his chair. For a while now he and Lubo had been swapping notes about books. He had a little time before he had to meet with Yoshimura and since Lubo happened to be manning his shop about then, Kaneki had decided to stop by. The conversation had quickly turned to good reads the two had come across.

"That does sound interesting." Lubo mused thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "I'll have to track down a copy some time."

"Yeah, I'll have to do the same with that book you told me about." The eye-patch wearing teen admitted.

Lubo sent a glance out to the street where people were walking right past the shop and released a sigh. "Man, business sure is slow."

Kaneki raised a brow at the green haired shop owner. "I think if you worked more regular hours you'd have more customers. If I learned anything from Yoshimura, it's that regulating time is helpful. Customers get a sense of dependability that way. Maybe you need a book about how to run a shop."

"Hmm..." Lubo frowned, crossing his arms in a thoughtful motion. "What is your relationship with the Coffee King next door anyways? You always seem to be coming or going to that shop."

"Hm?" The single visible gray eye of Kaneki blinked innocently. "Well... Yoshimura is the one that took me in when my mother passed. He's like a grandfather to me."

"Huh, guess that means you know how to make a good cup of coffee yourself then." At the raised brow Lubo got from Kaneki he quickly added, "What? I was curious about the coffee and decided to try it for myself."

"Well, Yoshimura was always a skilled man." It took a moment for both Lubo and Kaneki to realize neither of them had spoken.

The one to have spoken was a young man, not much older than Kaneki and Lubo. He had neatly combed purple hair and overall, he had an appearance of wealth. Wearing a red button up shirt with a black tie and a purple blazer that had periwinkle markings like stripes over that. A confident smirk was on his face as he entered the shop.

"And you are...?" Lubo raised a brow at the newcomer.

"Tsukiyama, right?" Kaneki really didn't have to ask, he had a feeling.

"Ah, so I'm known." Tsukiyama smiled and took a small bow. "Shuu Tsukiyama"

Lubo's gaze shifted over to Kaneki. "You know this guy?"

"Only by rumor." Kaneki turned his head so Lubo wouldn't notice the narrowing of his one visible eye. It was true that he knew of Tsukiyama, one of the first things that one needed to know when a part of the Circle, was the names of every Ward's head. Tsukiyama was the head of the Seventh Ward, with the base being an exclusive restaurant. Exclusive in that only cannibals were the patrons. Something becoming increasingly questionable given that it was more likely to grab attention, but that didn't stop the Seventh Ward.

"I could say the same about you, Kaneki." There was a sly smile on Tsukiyama's face.

Of course, Kaneki was in charge of the Eleventh Ward now. So the same applied to him.

Lubo seemed to pick up on the slowly forming tension. "Look... if you guys are going to fight, take it outside. I don't want my books getting destroyed."

"We weren't going to, we're all avid readers here, aren't we?" Tsukiyama gestured to himself and the shop for emphasis.

"I suppose. But I wonder what you're doing on this side of the Capital. Isn't your restaurant quite a ways away from here?" Kaneki rose from his seat. At this point he just wanted to meet with Yoshimura and then return to Kei, Kouto and Hinami. The restaurant owner was giving Kaneki some bad vibes.

"Wait, he owns a restaurant?" Lubo blinked, looking from one to the other. "What're you doing here?"

Once more Tsukiyama took a bow. "I merely came to invite Kaneki to my restaurant. He does after all have such great taste."

"I'll have to decline. My tastes tend to cost too much." The words were pointed directly at the fact people lost their lives to feed cannibals.

"Oh?" Tsukiyama raised a brow at Kaneki, an almost playful smile on his face. "I see. Perhaps another time then...?"

"Doubtful." He didn't even need to think before he said it. Kaneki wouldn't go to that restaurant unless he had to.

"Well then, I'll be taking my leave." Turning his back to Kaneki and Lubo, Tsukiyama raised a hand in farewell. "Au revoir!"

Kaneki's eyes were on Tsukiyama's back until the man disappeared into the crowds. He then turned to Lubo. "Sorry to leave after something like that but I need to get going." With that he left without another word.

Lubo watched as Kaneki left, taking the short walk to the coffee shop next door. "Sheesh, what was that all about?"

* * *

**Hmm... short chapter. Could've sword there was something else I was going to have happen here... Oh well.**

**The introduction of two more Tokyo Ghoul characters. Banjou, a member of the Imperial Army. Tsukiyama, head of the Seventh Ward and by extension owner of the cannibal exclusive restaurant that even Circle members are becoming wary of. Now to see how these two characters will influence things to come.**

**Give me some form of feedback people, I always appreciate it.**


	9. Platter of Blood

**Disclaimer: I do not own Akame ga Kill or Tokyo Ghoul, I'm not trustworthy with that kind of thing.**

**Warning: Cannibalism mentions, murder, possibly more.**

**R-King 93-Glad you find it as such.**

**Alzef137-I think you meant Tsukiyama, Tsukishima is a Bleach character (to my knowledge). Anyways, if Lubo was kidnapped Night Raid would probably get involved as well. Which would be a good reason for some more conflict or possibly an alliance between the two sides. Yes, I did read Tokyo Ghoul:Re chapter six, I also read chapter seven and eight. I thought it would be something like that. The Serprent reveal was good and so was themention at the end of chapter eight.**

**KyeVahl-Yay! Cookies!**

**Nidle-Glad you've taken a liking to the story.**

**MathiasMatt-I'm sure more Pokespiration will come. The chapter after this one will be putting a hole in the Akame ga Kill timeline before it even starts so you have that to look forward to.**

**imtoolazytologin-I was planning to continue anyways but thanks for the encouragement. Some might be spared, some might die as originally planned, some might be killed in their place and some... well, we'll see. Won't say who, but it won't all be the same.**

* * *

A few days had passed since Kaneki's first meeting with Tsukiyama. The local white haired menace that wore a mask was troubled by something. It was related to why he was out in the streets this late at night, but it wasn't related as one might think. He wasn't troubled by what he was going to be doing soon. In fact, the real reason was a bit more trivial.

What to do so he didn't have to go about exterminating the Circle's problems anymore. Because while he was taking care of Kei, Kouto and Hinami, Yoshimura was paying for the entirety of what had been the Kamishiro Estate. So to add to Kaneki's contribution in return for financing such a thing, taking out some problem people was another thing the eye-patch wearing teen was doing to repay the old man. Which was a bit troubling since he still wasn't the biggest fan of murder.

Granted, the targets so far had been somewhat deserving, but it was still murder. Having lived as a part of the Circle for years now, he knew some of them truly couldn't change at all and were better off dead. If he hadn't killed them, someone else sent by Yoshimura would have, most likely a man Kaneki was somewhat familiar with. A man known as Yomo, who had taught Kaneki some basics in combat years back. However Yomo's face was known in the Capital so he usually handled things outside the city. Or under it.

The problem for Kaneki was, he had no source of income to pay Yoshimura back, so he had to carry out exterminations. Itori had her bar in the Fourteenth Ward. Uta had his mask studio in the Fourth. There was another bar in the Sixth, whose head was a guy called Shachi or Orca by most. Heck, there was even Kamii University in the Twenty Second Ward which no one would suspect normally. Some restaurants and other unique shops were in the other Wards.

At the moment however, the Eleventh had no income. Just a pile of rubble where a woman disliked by many had once lived. What could he possibly do with an estate-sized property? Build a hotel? That would at least explain people going in and out all the time but he wasn't sure it was a good idea to have a hotel where cannibals of the Circle could frequent. Which they would undoubtedly. If one thing was certain, cannibals were attracted to other cannibals and while not everyone in the Circle was a cannibal, there was still that magnetic affect. His encounter with Tsukiyama had been a good example.

Scratching the back of his head, Kaneki released a sigh. He needed to focus on the task at hand. Which involved the man he encountered at Lubo's shop only a few days ago. Yoshimura and likely others had come to the conclusion that something needed to be done about the Seventh Ward. Thus, attack dog Kaneki was being sent to Tsukiyama's restaurant. They were getting sloppy and being more openly cannibalistic.

Before someone like Night Raid could get to them, they had to be dealt with somehow. If the restaurant was located, patrons could be captured and interrogated for information. Some might not talk, but that wasn't all of them. It was known that the Circle existed in the Capital if you were well-wired into the underground, but specifics beyond that were for the most part unknown. Not even the full name, the "Anteiku" in Anteiku Circle wasn't known. So no one could trace it to the coffee shop.

He'd never been one to wander into the Seventh Ward. That's where a majority of the Capital's cannibals converged. Rize had even been there at one point or another for a meal. She had always still preferred her meal fresh and unprepared though, in other words raw. While when he was eating, he didn't do anything special, it was more because it still didn't seem right to eat human flesh.

Kaneki's wanderings of the Capital at night came to a halt. A large building brightly lit at every corner. Carriages and horses surrounded the building, which meant that business was in full swing despite the time. It was more a night time kind of eatery after all.

The front door didn't look like the best choice when there were guards at the front ready to sound an alarm if the need arose. That wouldn't be any good for Kaneki when the point of coming tonight was to warn them not to overstep boundaries. Only a few actually had to die, just to get the point across. It they didn't listen he'd just kill more of them until they did.

A part of him was worried that he could think about killing like this. But he couldn't worry about the thought at the moment as he considered how to get in without setting off an alarm. The back entrance was likely guarded. Windows were all brightly lit, so there was no telling where everyone in the building was, if they were all together, they could also be spread out. It would be far too time consuming to search for an underground entrance, which he knew to exist as a fact.

So through process of elimination, that left the roof.

Not wanting to attract attention, he first made his way to the roof of a nearby building. Getting to the top involved a pile of crates, window sills and at the end, bouncing off the opposing wall to get to the top. He would rather not use the teigu if he could avoid it, excessive force was not the best way to go. Most patrons to the restaurant were wealthy and weak after all.

Once he was safely atop the neighboring building, he glanced through the windows on the top floor of the building at a rather awkward angle thanks to his position, hoping to see what he wanted. When he was satisfied with what he saw, he took the leap to the roof he was actually targeting. Now for the truly tricky part.

There was no entrance through this roof, likely to stop trespassers like himself. But he was different from some other trespassers. He could make an entrance as long as he was careful. This is why he had looked through the windows, to locate an empty room. As much as he wanted to avoid it, he'd have to use the teigu.

Releasing a sigh, a familiar tearing sensation was felt at his lower back as an equally familiar tentacle was released. Only one this time because that was all he needed. He'd been getting increasingly better at controlling them as he adjusted. No doubt his left eye had turned red and black as it always did when the teigu was active. Now it was just a matter of making the hole in the roof.

Something easily done with the red appendage striking down and through the roof. The sound of falling rubble was heard, but it wasn't loud so it was unlikely that it was heard. Even so, it did warrant a slight flinch from Kaneki as the tentacle retreated back into his body. Reaching to the hole, which was only big enough for his head, he gripped the edges and started pulling. Thanks to the strike there were already enough cracks that made opening up the hole easy enough.

Once it was wide enough he jumped down into the room. There was nothing special to it, yellow walls, wooden floors, wooden door, a couch to the side and a lamp in the corner that lit up the rather large window. Well, there was also a hole in the ceiling, but that was new.

He didn't move for a moment, just listening. There was a faint sound he could make out, created by many sources. That would suggest that the majority of occupants were gathered in one place already. This made things a bit easier for the white haired cannibal sent with a warning.

Although it likely meant the "entertainment" was about to begin, if it hadn't started already.

Walking through the halls, Kaneki could only think of one word. Expensive. The floors had red carpeting and the walls were painted a creamy color. There were wall lamps everywhere keeping the place well lit, it was a wonder how the place hadn't burned to the ground already. Paintings hung between almost every lamp and sometimes he'd come across small tables with vases on them, some with flowers. How did one manage such a place?

Eventually the sound of many gathered people became very clear to the point where he was almost tempted to cover his ears. Had his ears become more sensitive? At any rate, he'd pretty much reached his destination. Cracking a large wooden door open, the aimless chatter seemed to become even louder.

Slipping in and closing the door behind him, Kaneki examined his surroundings carefully. There were four sets of doors of the large circular room. One set however was fenced off and formed a balcony of sorts. This floor of the room was just a massive ring that stood a story or so higher than the lower ground, which was a circle, or more appropriately an arena.

He'd heard tale of what happened in the restaurant. Some patrons lured unwitting victims to the restaurant and left them to be cleaned and attired in fancier attire like a suit or a dress. Then the victims were brought to the arena where they would get murdered by what was called a scrapper, someone raised just to murder victims in an entertaining way. That was the entertainment the patrons were so excited for, although it would seem it hadn't started yet.

Coming up with a plan, he grabbed a nearby chair and snapped off the legs. The patrons were too busy looking at there prospective meal to notice what was going on behind them. Leaving what remained of the chair, Kaneki returned to the door he'd entered through and jammed a chair leg through the handles. A tight fit, which was perfect. As wealthy as they were, the patrons were likely weak and wouldn't be able to pull the chair leg free. If they even figured out that was what stopped their escape once initial panic subsided.

Kaneki repeated the process with the other two doors that weren't fenced off. He'd no doubt be spotted if he entered the fenced off area which is where the ones in charge of the place would likely be. Who would also be the ones most expecting of his visit and probably wise enough not to run when he made his move. They knew they'd be in bigger trouble if they ran. The patrons on the other hand weren't necessarily part of the Circle however and wouldn't know.

Once the panic set in they would probably struggle with the door normally anyways.

Now he just needed a decent vantage point for the moment. His eyes examined the room carefully. There wasn't much available it would seem, although when his eyes traveled up one of the wooden columns he found something. Beams. Wooden support beams crisscrossed above reaching from every corner to the middle of the room with more woven about to keep them in place. It seemed like they were more for decoration than support.

They could serve his purpose for coming well.

As much as he wanted to avoid using the teigu, he would also rather go unnoticed. Climbing a column up to the support beams was likely to be noticed. With the teigu's help however, he could use it like a grappling hook or something.

So that is exactly what he did.

Summoning one tentacle from his position, standing behind a column, he aimed it up to the support beams. When it was firmly wrapped around a beam above he willed the tentacle to retract back into his back where it originated. When he was able to he grabbed hold of the beam with his bare hands and swung himself up, retracting the tentacle fully as he did so.

He took a few careful steps as a test. The beams were sturdy, so maybe it wasn't decoration after all. Either that or the owner had decided they could afford it. Both were strong possibilities in this case so he wouldn't rule out either one.

Kaneki came to a stop when he was in about the middle of the room. Exactly when the pair of doors for the balcony swung open and three people entered.

One was a man dressed in a red suit wearing a clown mask, he stood on the left. On the right was a blonde woman wearing a mask that barely covered her eyes (it was more like a pair of glasses really) and a red dress. Between the two was none other than Tsukiyama in an all-white suit and a crescent shaped mask that curved over both eyes and curled to his chin going down the left. His mask had half a set of teeth over the right eye and a small eye that was far over the left eye, on the forehead. There was no doubt in Kaneki's mind that it was Tsukiyama. Although everyone here greeted Tsukiyama as Mr. Mm.

Down below in the arena a heavy set of steel double doors swung open and several people wandered in, the man in suits and the women in dresses. They were no doubt meant to be dinner for the night. Once all of them were in, the doors shut and a locking mechanism was heard.

On the other side of the arena the doors opened as well and a massive beast of a man entered with the doors closing behind him. That would be the scrapper then, the one that killed the people for dinner. The behemoth was at least three Kaneki's wide and it was hard to tell if it was muscle or fat. He wore black trousers and sandals with the trousers held up by red cords connected to red cloth that hid most of his face. His hands were clad in red leather and his right hand held a large saw and on his left side hung a butcher's knife and a pair of scissors. The patrons cheered him on as "Taro."

A closer look at the people meant to be dinner... The face of someone he'd met in recent times were among them.

"Banjou, that idiot." Kaneki muttered before standing up, traveling along the beams and then taking a simple hop off the beam he was currently on. He didn't know Banjou well, they'd only met once, but Kaneki felt almost obligated to help the man. Maybe it was because the soldier had known Rize.

There was a heavy crunching sound as feet met skull. Impact had created a crater under the scrapper and for a moment, it was like nothing had happened at all. Then the skull of the horrendous beast of a man seemed to shatter, sending bone fragments, brain matter and more flying, the bone fragments tearing through the mask. All that was left of the head was a bloody, messy stump with a bit of the spine sticking out that would make even those strong of heart cringe.

After dealing the blow he landed on the ground in front of Banjou, facing the balcony "Mr. Mm" whom Kaneki knew to be Tsukiyama stood watching with a few select others. Kaneki's one visible eye which was red from the thick scent of human blood, the left, was narrowed directly at the one running operations.

To break the reigning silence, he raised his right hand and cracked the index finger with his thumb. As if timed, the massive body of Taro the scrapper fell back creating a distinct thud. This is when the panic set in and the majority of the patrons began to run for the doors. The natural first thing to do, run away, was quickly found to be futile as the doors wouldn't open. Only a few of them remained calm, the ones on the balcony. His visit might have been expected by those running the place.

The panic slowly and reluctantly downed as a slow and steady clap was heard.

Tsukiyama was the source and there was an amused smile on what was visible of his face. When things had settled enough he spoke. "So you decided to take my invitation after all, One Eye."

Murmurings arose at the name's mention. Recognition from the wanted posters no doubt, this served to make those watching a bit uneasy. He was a known cannibal, which meant he was a cannibal like them. However his entrance suggested anything but coming on friendly terms. At the very least, there was a very real danger present.

"Not quite. And I believe you know exactly what brings me here." There was no denying Kaneki's words were pointed. One would have to be incredibly dim not to sense the tension.

"Yes, we've gotten a few warnings lately, although this is the first we've received one in person. I must say, you do know how to make an entrance One Eye." The was no faltering in Tsukiyama's smile as he spoke, raising his right hand and snapping his fingers. If that wasn't a signal for something, Kaneki didn't know what was.

The iron doors Taro had entered through swung open to reveal another Scrapper. This one looked similar than Taro, only he seemed smaller in stature.

Eyes settling on the one who stood between everyone's meal and himself, the new scrapper charged forward with a saw in hand. Turning his head Kaneki saw this and when the scrapper was practically right behind him, two tentacles came out. The tentacles stabbed straight through the scrapper and sent him flying up through some support beams before getting lodged into the ceiling.

It was the force of impact that sent the saw flying from the scrapper's hand and to Kaneki's shoulder. There was only a small graze and Kaneki thought nothing of it. He then moved forward, passing through the people that were supposed to be dinner for the cannibalistic patrons of the restaurant until he stood in front of them. A serious and scary to most look being sent at the one in charge of things.

Kaneki recalled the name that the wanted posters called Tsukiyama's masked persona. "Stop messing around Gourmet, or I'll send whatever else you have up to the ceiling too."

Tsukiyama released a sigh before hopping over the rail and landing in the arena in front of Kaneki. He raised his hands in surrender and spoke in a placating manner. "Come now, there's no need to bring the whole place down. The message has been received." There was a pause, and Kaneki swore that what he could see of Tsukiyama's nose twitched. The silence seemed to grow and Tsukiyama appeared frozen before a smile returned to his face. "We'll tone down activities a bit. I could even join up with you and help you reach for your goals."

"I don't see what's in it for me." If his eyes weren't narrowed already, they would've been now. Kaneki wasn't about to trust the man known by several names and was picky about the people or parts of specific people he ate. Something about him said there was a goal Tsukiyama was reaching for in offering his help. That something required him to be close. Not to mention how he'd reacted to the smell of Kaneki's blood.

"I have connections and I'm not so bad in a fight if I do say so myself." It seemed almost like Tsukiyama was bragging. "I already know all about your base as well, I could lend a helping hand if you'd like."

Kaneki sent one of the tentacles at the iron door, forcing it open with surprising ease before turning his head towards Banjou and the other would-be meals. "Get out of here." Returning his gaze back to Tsukiyama, he waited for the sounds of the soldier's footsteps to fade away before speaking. "You won't come to the base unless I give you permission. Got that?"

That smirk of Tsukiyama's seemed to grow. "Naturalmente."

* * *

_A few days later_

Banjou had been deeply troubled by something since the incident at the restaurant. The guy with a mask and his teigu. That was the same teigu Rize Kamishiro had once used. He'd seen it only once but that wasn't something he could easily forget. Then the guy with white hair and a red eye, the one wearing a mask just happened to have his right eye covered. Just like a white haired guy he'd encountered not long ago did with his left eye, who just happened to be a former servant for Rize.

He needed answers and there was only one place to go to get them. That is what brought him back to the demolished Kamishiro Estate. Although apparently many surprises were in store for him on this particular day. There was no sign of the guy that went by Kaneki, but there was a woman crouched by a pond surrounded by red spider lilies with her son. But he knew both the woman's and the boy's names.

"Kei? Kouto?" The names escaped his mouth before he could even think. Surely he was seeing things, they should be dead...

The duo looked up, startled by the sound of their own names.

The woman known as Kei stood up, hesitantly stepping in front of her son. She didn't seem certain in what she was doing. "Banjou...? What are you doing here?"

"I-I came here looking for someone..." Banjou admitted blankly, still trying to register what he was seeing. "But you two... if you're still alive... why are you still in the Capital? Not to mention here of all places!"

"They're here under my protection, Banjou."

Banjou was jolted out of his shock by the sound of a vaguely familiar voice. Turning his head to look, he saw Kaneki without a mask and an eye patch over the left eye. He was walking over from the direction of the destroyed mansion.

He felt his jaw move but no words escaped him. What could he say in a situation like this?

"I had a feeling you'd be coming back here, although I didn't think it would be now." Kaneki admitted absently before glancing over at Kei and Kouto. "You two should head back."

Kei nodded, offering Kaneki a thankful smile for getting them out of the awkward situation before taking Kouto's hand and heading back the way Kaneki had come.

"Well, I'm glad to see those two are alright." A female voice caused Banjou to jump.

Looking behind him, Banjou could see three figures. Two male and one female, each wearing a chest plate like Banjou. However their faces couldn't be made out thanks to their hooded cloaks. The male on the right wearing a red cloak, the female in the middle wore one in blue and the male on the left had a purple cloak.

Banjou had completely forgotten the three had come with him for the arrest of "One Eye" although now things seemed a bit more complicated. If Kaneki was protecting Kei and Kouto, then could any of the four Imperial soldiers even attempt to do so?

"So you all know Kei and Kouto then?" Kaneki offered a ffriendly looking smile.

"Yeah, Kei's husband was in our squad before he got called back to the Capital." The red hooded figure explained helpfully, Banjou knew him as Ichimi.

"But when we heard he was accused of treason we feared that all three of them would be executed." It was the one cloaked in purple that continued, his name was Sante.

Kaneki glanced back towards Kei and Kouto as they disappeared into the rubble. "He sacrificed himself so they could escape and they made it to a friend that knew them and also knew me." He returned his gaze to the four soldiers. "If you've come to arrest me then I'm afraid we'll have a problem, because I'm not leaving anyone in my care unprotected."

"That was a good man, I don't think we could try arresting you after hearing what you're doing for his family." Spoke the only female of the group who wore a blue cloak, Jiro was her name.

Banjou was quiet in thought for a moment before speaking. "How about some answers instead?" When he got nothing but a raised brow from Kaneki he continued. "Like what really happened to Rize."

Kaneki released a sigh and scratched the back of his head. "I told you. Although I suppose I left out some things..." He seemed to contemplate something before continuing. "We were attacked at night and there was a fire. I don't know what happened to Rize but given where her teigu is now, the consensus is that she died. The killers... well, the primary suspects are a group called Night Raid who I'm sure you've heard about by now."

"Night Raid..." Banjou repeated quietly, clenching a fist. "So they're the ones that killed her." He'd heard the rumors, but he wanted to hear it straight from the lone survivor's mouth. Now he knew who to go after for killing Rize, the woman he had fallen for.

"You shouldn't try them." Was Kaneki in his head or something? "I met one of them a couple weeks ago. Honestly, you wouldn't last long."

Banjou twitched at what he could only consider an insult. "Why you little-" He cut himself off and moved to punch Kaneki who merely grabbed the offending arm and flipped the larger man over.

The trio of hooded soldiers crowded around the dazed man, Ichimi even poked him with a stick.

"I'm just being honest." Kaneki stated, looking down at Banjou who was sending an aggravated look at the sky. "If I was able to take you that easily, you wouldn't last long against one of them."

"He has a point Banjou." Ichimi pointed out, tossing the stick away.

"You wanted to arrest him with the four of us but he could obviously beat us all." Jiro added, crossing her arms as she looked in Kaneki's direction.

"You seem to overestimate yourself." Sante concluded, shaking his head in an almost disapproving manner.

The soldier gritted his teeth, knowing they were all right. He'd seen a taste of Kaneki's power at the restaurant, there was no way the four of them could stand up against something like that on their own. "... Then let me help you."

This seemed to catch Kaneki off guard. He gave a blink of surprise as he looked down at Banjou. "What?"

"I can help you." Banjou reiterated, still staring at the sky. "We were called back here to work under Yamori, but he's dead now. We've been getting bounced around a lot as a result, I can get information to help you with."

"Oi! You wouldn't be doing that alone Banjou!" Ichimi spoke up, giving Banjou a hard poke on the shoulder.

"Yeah! Someone has to keep you from getting into trouble!" Jiro declared with surprising command in her tone.

"And when you do get caught there's no way you'd make it out alone!" Sante added, insulting Banjou, but also stating he'd help.

"H-Hey! Why do you assume I'll get caught!?"

* * *

_Later_

It had taken a bit of convincing before Kaneki had given the thumbs up for the four soldiers to start helping him. He hadn't been reluctant because of a lack of trust or anything. Instinct told him he could trust them, then they had admitted to losing faith in the Capital and had been planning to join the Revolution down in the south. The main reason he didn't want help was because they'd be putting themselves in danger. Once he'd heard their original plans, Kaneki had agreed.

They were good people, he could tell. But if they joined the Revolution, the Capital would be after their heads and they'd likely be dead before they even reached the Revolutionaries. If they were with him however, he might be able to keep them safe to some extent. There was no personal attachment, it was just that good people were hard to find these days.

That's what he told himself anyways.

This brought Kaneki to leading them through the rubble to the bunker. For the moment, this was his base of operations so this is where they would be meeting most often. Of course, they would need to be warned about the other residents of the bunker. Namely a girl and a bird since they already knew Kei and Kouto.

"Wow, I never would have thought something like this was under the estate." Banjou remarked as they came down the stairs leading into the bunker one by one.

"Rize was a cautious person, I assume her parents were too since they were the ones that originally had this constructed." Kaneki explained, shutting the entrance to the bunker before following the newcomers down the stairs.

Banjou raised a curious brow at the statement. "You knew her parents?"

"For the last two years before the incident that killed them. I met Rize six years ago and went to work for her a year after that. It was a year after that I really met her parents." There was a small shrug from Kaneki as he led the four into the main room where Kei and Kouto were seated on the couch and waiting as if expecting Banjou's group to be coming.

Next to the couch stood a large hook that curved up at the end to hold a bird cage. In said bird cage was a bird naturally. It was a small cockatiel with pale yellow feathers on the head and down the belly. The wings, tail and back were a light gray with the left wing having an odd dark gray star mark. There was also a red spot on each cheek. On the back of his head was a sprig of yellow feathers sticking up.

Seeing that the other bunker resident wasn't present Kaneki found himself calling her name. "Hinami!"

It was a short wait before the girl appeared, poking her head out of the hall that led to the bedrooms. She wore a simple yellow dress with black sandals and her light brown hair was held back with her favorite clover headband. The young girl was a bit surprised by the newcomers, but seeing the Kaneki was calm she came out fully knowing it was safe.

"Alright, Banjou, Ichimi, Jiro, Sante, you all already know Kei and Kouto. This is Hinami," At this Kaneki gestured to the young girl. "Hinami, this is Banjou, Ichimi, Jiro and Sante." Kaneki pointed out each individual in turn.

Hinami offered a nervous smile moving to stand between Kaneki and the bird. "Nice to meet you." She gestured to the bird in the cage beside her. "And this is Loser, we call him that because its the only word he knows."

Several days ago Hinami had found the bird injured. With Kaneki's easy to get permission she took the bird in and started taking care of it. Kouto often helped her as well, so there wasn't really any downside to having the bird with them. At the very least there was a lesson in responsibility and generally kept them from getting bored.

"Loser? Surely he can say more words than that." Banjou spoke thoughtfully as he approached the bird cage to get a better look.

"You're not too good with word yourself Banjou." Ichimi put in with a tone that might have been attempting to be helpful but might also have been intended as an insult.

"Loser." The bird squawked, a little bit more than well-timed to just be a coincidence.

"Hey! Who're you calling a loser?!" Banjou raised an angry fist, glaring at the little bird.

"Loser." Was the repeated answer of the bird called Loser.

Absently watching as Banjou argued with the bird, Kaneki pondered his next course of action. Somehow, a group had practically formed around him over the course of a night. He hadn't really considered having help in this mess of a life, he wasn't the type to drag people down. Although the help of others could make things easier. Like that mansion of a nobleman and his family he had to get rid of in a week. Even the blonde girl that was the man's daughter was supposed to die.

There was supposed to be a lot of guards so having help might not be a completely bad thing. It would at the very least make the job quicker.

* * *

**Alright, Banjou, Ichimi, Jiro, Sante and Tsukiyama joined! Oh, and Loser too! Can't forget the bird, someone needs to insult others after all. Then we got mentions of a wealthy family being the next target and there is a "blonde girl" so hopefully you all know what that means-somewhat. There may be a divergence in the Akame ga Kill story line starting in the next chapter, before it truly even begins.**

**Also, anyone have some ideas for what Kaneki should do about the property? Taking suggestions here, if nothing else I'll fall back to the hotel idea Kaneki shot down himself. Maybe a Pokemon gym where Kaneki can go all hungry Gengar on his enemies! Or how about just a whole market place? We're talking about a huge plot of land in the middle of the Capital. *Shrugs.* I dunno! Help me out here people!**

**Sorry for going off grid for weeks, papers and finals have arrived and it might be another week before the next update. Only reason I'm updating now is because I've been working on this chapter bit by bit. Anyways, review, tell me what you think. Toss in some suggestions, I'm not opposed to most ideas and am at the very least willing to consider.**


	10. New Blood

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Ghoul or Akame ga Kill, my mind might be messed up but both are truly admirable from my viewpoint.**

**Keriel-Akame ga Kill already kind of beat us with the child ****assassin army. XD Clinic could be possible although I feel a bookstore would be stealing from Lubo's business.**

**Alzef137-I fear for Hide, I really do. Then your idea with the storehouses, I must say that I do like that idea. Partly because it would help me figure out a problem I've been having with what occurs later on in the story.**

**XxoiIioxX-We just need the trigger I call Tatsumi.**

**Hibarilova18-Not sure a about a farm as its in the middle of the Capital. But both... maybe like a community garden/park with sales stalls. People disappear at parks all the time.**

**ahsoei-Apartments huh, interesting idea there. That actually gives me a few ideas. *Evil cackle.***

**Diekilles-I don't think Kaneki trusts Tsukiyama all that much but I could see Tsukiyama being left in charge of business when the situation comes down to it.**

**Guest (1)-Who said it was the same night as the others? ;D**

**Dwiggy-Its funny, after bookstore kept coming up I was thinking library as well. Great minds think alike I suppose.**

**Lazyman12-I will continue writing until it eventually ends. Sometimes I may go AWOL however.**

**Guest (2)-I have updated. Will Kaneki join Night Raid? Well I would think he isn't on good terms with them at the moment after taking a bite out of Akame but things can change so we'll see.**

**Warnings: Cannibalism, murder, torture and quite possibly more.**

**Note (1): In my eagerness to get this chapter up I did not do a spelling or grammar check. I will be going back to do so later.**

**Note (2): There is now a poll on my profile to help me decide what Kaneki will do with the property.**

* * *

Over the last week, it had been identified that One Eye no longer works alone. There was a whole group now and one of the new members of One Eye's group was another known cannibal, the "Gourmet" as he was called. The fact that a solid group had formed forced the Capital's hand in naming the group that held cannibals. Everywhere throughout the city, many wanted posters were now up.

This new group was labeled "Ghouls" after the teigu the leader One Eye used. Takatsuki was the teigu's actual name, but in the past it had always been referred to as the "Ghoul Teigu" because of the man-eating tendencies. Thanks to the cannibalism and murders following the Ghouls, they were quickly becoming as notorious as the assassins in Night Raid.

Ghouls had become a feared name in the Capital already. The streets had been dangerous at night already, but now it had gotten far more dangerous. Sunset wasn't a safe time either now with another upstart criminal that was called Rabbit. She wore a rabbit mask and always attacked when the sun was sinking below the horizon. She worked alone but had brought about several brutal murders where the now deceased had been reduced to a disgusting pulp.

Tonight, Ghouls would be making a move on a noble family.

* * *

Surrounded by trees was a brightly lit mansion. It stood alone just outside the Capital and away from most problems within the confines of the Empire's heart. One would think the wealthy family inside were peace-loving and had chosen their location because it was away from the mayhem within the Capital. If that were the case however, the Anteiku Circle and by extension Ghouls wouldn't want them dead. Which is why there was a group of six hidden in the tree line.

The mansion was outside the Capital so the screams wouldn't be heard. Three occupants of the mansion took in people that needed a place to stay, then turned on those same people the next day. They tortured their homeless house guests to death. With a massive security detail, they had kept the vengeful at bay and the prisoners caged.

Once upon a time, the mansion owner had needed help with a cover up involving one dead Captain of the Imperial Navy and that Captain's suspicious brother who was a Lieutenant in the Capital Guard. Someone from the Circle had helped the man, if only to have another noble under the Circle's thumb. When something was asked of the noble a couple weeks back however, the noble was idiotic enough to refuse and even threatened to reveal his contact in the Circle to the Imperials.

Needless to say, such a thing would not be tolerated by the Circle. Which is what brings Kaneki and company to the mansion tonight.

Without a word Kaneki stepped out of the tree line, walking up to the mansion and seemingly taking no note of the approaching guards that had noticed him. In the moonlight he was revealed to be wearing a black dress shirt and black slacks with a long black coat. He wore his mask naturally, there was always an off chance of there being survivors when this was over and he'd rather not be identified. Getting identified is probably the worst thing that could happen to someone with association to the Circle.

_"We should get someone to eat while we're at it. You've been putting eating aside for over a week now." _Takatsuki, the teigu in his body, voiced her concerns. _"You can only sustain yourself by eating people. Unlike most, you don't have a choice or you'll wither into nothing. Simply because _I _need to eat."_

"Why does it have to be people?" Kaneki found himself muttering lowly.

As the first guard neared, a demand was made clear. "Who goes there?!" They must not have realized who he was.

An exasperated sigh was heard from the teigu in his mind. _"There's something about the human constitution that's different from everything else. The anomaly in a human being is the only thing that can sustain me. This is a simple fact that I have always existed with, since before I was made into a teigu. We're nothing like those restaurant cannibals, we eat people to exist."_

More guards came up and still Kaneki didn't respond to them. He didn't need to though, horror was washing over the guards' faces as the began to realize who he was. Before they could get away however, two blood red tentacles erupted from Kaneki's back and whipped out, slamming into the majority of the gathered guards before wrapping around and crushing them.

Blood flew in every direction from the crushed victims. The tentacles then hurled the bodies into the side of the mansion, causing the structure to destabilize and a portion of the wall buried the guards. Well, any occupants in the mansion were probably wide awake now. They weren't his main concern however. He was taking care of the guards outside.

Banjou, Ichimi, Jiro, Sante and Tsukiyama were taking care of everyone inside. Which would hopefully include the main targets. This was more or less a final trial for the group before it was official. For the past week it had been a series of trials where Kaneki would watch them work and deduce where their strengths could lie. Now he was letting them fight without his watchful gaze.

So, rather than worrying about those inside the mansion, Kaneki focused on the few who remained. All four of whom were trying to flee. One got stabbed through the heart with a tentacle and then allowed to fall to the ground. A pair of guards who had been fleeing together were both grabbed by an ankle with the same tentacle while the other tentacle grabbed the last guard around the waist.

The pair grabbed by the ankles clawed and the ground frantically. Their nails getting torn off and leaving trails of blood as finger bones snapped. Pure desperation overriding any pain they were inflicting upon themselves. One of the two tried to use his spear and stabbed at the offending tendril that was dragging him to his death. It was a futile effort however as the teigu merely regenerated after each stab.

Takatsuki may be urging him to eat, but he could go over a week without eating and use the teigu just fine as long as he didn't use up too much energy in that time. After tonight however he would definitely have to eat, he'd held off on it too long. Going to Tsukiyama's restaurant had left a bad taste in Kaneki's mouth and he hadn't even eaten anything.

When the pair being dragged had been brought up to him, the one with the spear attempted to stab Kaneki. The spear didn't break skin however as he'd caught the spear by the shaft. It had occurred to Kaneki that he'd been over-using the teigu rather than his own abilities ever since the fire. He'd been trained to fight in the past and knew better than to be too dependent on a weapon... even if it-she-did talk to him.

Hence why he gave the two a chance to get up and fight, the tentacle holding them by the ankles releasing them. The third of the still living was held at bay by the other scaly tentacle.

In a desperate bid for survival, the guard with the spear got up and lunged with his weapon. The spear was caught again however before being pushed back at the guard so the butt of the spear hit stomach. Impact winded the man and he lost his grip on the spear, making it easy for Kaneki to pull it away and turn it on it's wielder. One stab with the spear got the guard in the shoulder, a second cut his Achilles tendon causing him to collapse and with the third the man was beheaded.

The unarmed guard stayed down, apparently deciding he was as good as dead. Only, rather than dying on Kaneki's whim he took out a knife and held it to his own throat. He gazed up at his would-be killer, a pleading look in his eyes as if begging to be spared. When the man saw the unyielding look in the teigu user's only visible eye however, he shut his eyes. There was a moment of hand shaking hesitation before the plunge was taken and the knife was buried hilt deep into the neck.

Without much thought the remaining guard that had been held by a tentacle was thrown with such strength his body flew through the air until finally landing. Landing on top of a shed that had managed to escape his notice up until now. Looking that way, Kaneki spotted one of the primary targets fleeing along with some of the guards towards that very shed. The wife to the man of the house.

Seeing as the rest of the group were dealing with everyone inside the mansion however, it was up to Kaneki to end her.

* * *

_In the shed_

How long had it been since this all began? It had felt like weeks, but perhaps only a day had passed. She really didn't know, the experience so far had been more than enough for a week though. What they did to her though, that wasn't the bad part. The bad part was watching when they tortured her friend. He was her friend and there was nothing she could do to ease his suffering at the hands of a little girl an the girl's parents.

It was hard just to look at him, laying on the cold stone floor and leaning against the bars of his cage. A thin line of blood was dripping from his mouth and there were a series of intense burn marks on his body. Only consolation was he still had his pants. It was hard to say if the cold floor or her position was better.

She on the other hand was stripped of all clothes, then hung by her arms like a slab of beef left to age and dry. There was a series of cuts all over her body, the blood having dripped from the cuts down her body thanks to her position. The biggest and worst was the one on her right leg, it had been re-cut a few times. Apparently the cut would keep being reopened until her whole leg came off. From which point she would inevitably bleed out.

Honestly, she was almost certain that this is how she would die, hanging from the ceiling and blood drained to the floor below. But she would stay strong, if only for her friend, Ieyasu. Stay strong, don't give the captors the satisfaction of seeing her broken. She would stay strong until the bitter end in a way that would make Tatsumi proud.

Tatsumi... if she died here she'd never see him again. She had left the village with both Ieyasu and Tatsumi, her childhood friends. The whole point of coming to the Capital had been to earn money that could be sent to the village and pay for the ever increasing taxes. It was something she might not get to do now and the hopes of the villagers would be put solely on Tatsumi if Ieyasu were to follow her lead.

They'd gotten separated from Tatsumi not long after leaving the village. A rather chaotic bandit attack had likely sent all three of them off course a bit. However she and Ieyasu had managed to meet back up not long after. Unfortunately they never did see Tatsumi again. Could they really leave Tatsumi with the burden of the village's livelihood on his shoulders? If they did it would be far from fair and... she would never get to say goodbye.

Despair was a prominent feeling that had made its home in her gut. However defiance to the ones doing this was something she _had_ to do. It was an inexplicable need to put up one last fight. Their torturers didn't deserve the satisfying sight of her despair so she wouldn't let them see. She would go out fighting.

That's the mentality she had reached when something hit the building they were in. She noticed because it had hit with such force she and the corpses hung around her shook. Dust fell from the impact even, particularly above her and getting into the open wounds.

The occasionally moan-filled silence was broken. Those still alive, few as they are, shifted as murmurings and whispers began. What was going on outside?

She felt a slight lurch.

Looking up she was forced to squint in the darkness. It took a moment of staring before she was able to make out a crack in the ceiling, right where her chains were hooked up. The crack wasn't wide enough to allow her to fall though... at least not yet.

This could be her chance at freedom. All she had to do was cause enough movement and widen that crack, then the hook would wall and she would be a step closer to getting out. Causing movement wouldn't be easy though. Her arms had gone numb not even an hour into being hung like this and breathing had slowly been increasing in difficultly.

So, she tried swinging her legs. The initial movement causing considerable pain between the inflicted wounds and the lack of movement. Even so she gritted her teeth and kept swinging. She could just hear the scrapping of metal on stone as the hook rocked in the crack. This motivated her to continue, just a little bit more. No doubt those still alive could hear the chains creaking, her heavy and strained breathing as well.

Until the light flooded in, she hadn't noticed someone was trying to get into the building. She hadn't heard the creak and clicks as the doors were unlocked. In the end it was the light that alerted her to the new presence. That and the panicked gasps of one of her torturers.

It was the wife and mother. A blonde woman, wearing nothing but a nightgown. She'd ran into the shed and turned towards the doors not even noticing the victim attempting to escape. The woman was hiding then.

A guard stood at the open door with a spear raised. He was looking around, which meant there was no enemy nearby at the moment. Whatever was going on must've been big if they weren't paying her any mind. The woman was backing up towards the rail, not far from where the girl trying to escape was.

The sight of the woman brought about a feral anger. There was a final surge of strength as she swung forward and the chains no longer held her up. Her body slammed into the woman's, bringing them both to the ground. At least the now somewhat escaped prisoner had a somewhat cushioned landing thanks to the body below her.

"Sayo?!" She heard her friend Ieyasu called out from his cell.

_"W__ho was Sayo again?" _Was the absent thought that crossed the girl's mind as she let the feral instinct take over. Her arms were numb and motionless. What energy her legs had had left was now spent. She still had use of something however.

She lunged down and sank her teeth into the woman's throat, tearing through the flesh and actually swallowing. Screams were heard but went ignored. The motion was repeated several times before she stopped, as realization dawned on her.

Had she just eaten a woman until she died? The bites had brought death, but it hadn't been immediate. No doubt the woman had known what was happening with her last thoughts. Maybe the second bite had ended it, but that didn't change the fact that she'd been alive when the first bite was taken.

Her name was Sayo, she'd just eaten one of her torturers to death.

No one stopped her though. Ieyasu just stared at her, completely shocked by what happened.

The guard that had accompanied the woman turned to check out the commotion but before he could he got slammed into the door frame with a force so great bones snapped. He didn't even get the chance to recover as an elbow came down at the back of the man's neck and another snap was heard. Force from the blow smashing the skull into the door frame. With the combined blows, there was no way the man was alive.

Gazes of those that had seen the newest turn of events moved to the one who had attacked the guard. A white haired guy wearing a black mask that grinned and had an eye patch over his right eye. He wore a long black coat over all black clothes.

His next action seemed to be met with hesitation. It was almost like he was debating with himself on what to do next.

However after a moment he seemed to come to a decision. Much to the observers' shock, he hesitantly bit into the dead man's arm and tore right through the thick protective fabric. Then he took another bite, soon followed by another. He'd started hesitantly but as the taste of blood settled he seemed to get more anxious for each bite. It was almost as if he were in a trance because he sure hadn't taken notice of the tortured prisoners.

Sayo watched with horror that was oddly mixed with morbid fascination. "Y-you're eating him?"

The masked, white haired man turned his one red-eyed gaze to her, seemingly pulled out of his trance. A brow raised at the sight of blood around the girl's mouth and the notable chunks taken out of the dead woman, particularly around the throat. He seemed to put two and two together pretty quickly, she'd committed an act of cannibalism just like he had been doing. His gaze didn't stay on her for long however, turning his head away almost as if embarrassed. But his visible eye showed no sign of such a thing.

"I was." He admitted simply, bowing his head slightly and allowing his eye to close. It was almost as if in regret.

"Oh..." Sayo looked over at Ieyasu who still looked shocked over what she had done, never mind the masked stranger. She then lowered her gaze to the woman a few bites had been taken out of. Her hands clenched into fists. Wasn't she supposed to feel bad after eating one of her own kind? All she felt was an odd sort of pleasure... the taste of human flesh had been oddly... good. But such a thing was wrong morally, her village had never stooped so low even when food was particularly scarce. It was wrong to eat another human being.

Wasn't it?

She was jolted out of her thoughts as she felt something come to rest around her shoulders. A quick look revealed a coat had been placed over her body. It was the man's coat actually, she recognized. In the shock of killing and taking a bite out of someone, she'd forgotten that her clothes had been stripped from her body. Right before the torture began.

A shiver went through her body at the thought of her experience and all she wanted to do was pull the coat around her body tighter. Her arms didn't so much as twitch to do so. Nonetheless she felt more secure. Although it seemed strange that the one that had been killing the guards moments ago without mercy, had given her his coat. He must have had some idea of what had been going on. Did he pity her and the rest of the prisoners?

The creak of bending metal brought her attention back to the man. Two tentacles, red in color, and clearly visible in the dark because they were glowing faintly, had sprouted from his back and had forced apart the bars of one of the cages. Moving on he did the same for each cage, allowing everyone strong enough to move to escape. No one hanging from the ceiling was freed, they were all just corpses however. Sayo got the feeling he could tell whom in the shed could still be saved.

Ieyasu stumbled out of his cage when it was his turn. Her long-time friend approached her cautiously, as if afraid she might take a bite out of him. Which at this point seemed actually quite possible. That didn't mean such a motion didn't hurt her however. They'd been friends since they were young after all, shouldn't he have more faith in her?

When Ieyasu reached her he hesitantly reached a hand to her shoulder but she shrugged him off. His actions already made her reluctant to be near him again. But his actions also made her wonder how someone else would react, like their other friend whom they'd been separated from on the journey to the Capital. Would Tatsumi treat her differently as well? Had that brief act of cannibalism sealed her fate? How many would be kind if they found out about what she'd done?

Those thoughts had her worried as she slumped down in hopes the coat would hide more of her body. Where did she go from here? She didn't have much time to dwell on those thoughts as she heard the approach of several people. Looking out through the open doors, she could make out five figures all wearing masks. Not unlike the man she'd seen committing an act of cannibalism himself not long ago.

Three of the newcomers wore gas masks, each one with some varying details and with different colored cloaks. Another was a muscular man with a mask that covered the lower half of his face. The final new arrival wore a purple suit and a crescent shaped mask that covered most of his face and was decorated with a mouth over his left eye. By far the last looked the most eccentric of the group.

Thinking back however, she recalled seeing wanted posters when she and Ieyasu had arrived in the Capital. One of the posters resembled the man with the crescent mask, she couldn't remember what he was called. Looking back at the first man, she realized he also had a wanted poster. To the Capital he was known as One Eye, she remembered because everyone seemed to have been talking about him and his acts of cannibalism.

The white haired man approached the newcomers calmly, comrades no doubt. "Everyone taken care of?"

"Uh-well..." The muscular man appeared a bit nervous. "Not everyone is accounted for you see..."

"Relax!" One of the gas mask trio patted the large man on the shoulder, this one wearing a red cloak and sounded male.

"The girl is missing, probably some of the guards too." Spoke another of the gas mask wearers in the muscular man's place. This one sounded female and wore a blue cloak.

"Red's right Loser!" Spoke the final cloaked, gas mask wearing figure. His cloak being purple in color. "Relax!"

"Oi! Stop parroting the damn bird!" The muscular man at the moment dubbed "Loser" snapped raising a fist at the one wearing purple. "Not the name we agreed on!"

A small laugh escaped the crescent mask wearer who covered his mouth with a hand much like some socialites. Apparently finding the muscular man's defiance at the nickname amusing. "Not easy to step out of a bird's shadow Banjoi?"

One Eye merely released a sigh at their antics, raising a hand to his chin and seeming to contemplate their options. "Waiting here probably won't do us much good. Upon approach they'll know something is wrong. We'll have to track the girl down another time."

Banjoi-Loser-whatever it was they called the muscular man looked at One Eye with concern. "But won't she go into hiding after all this?"

"People talk." Came the simple reply as One Eye moved to leave. His companions shifting their positions and waiting to follow.

One Eye was a cannibal. Even so, he'd shown her some kindness and hadn't judged her at all. Ieyasu had been supportive up until now. Maybe... just maybe...

"Wait." Sayo croaked out, trying to stand but after having so little mobility for as long as she had it seemed like a futile effort, all she really managed to do was look directly at the back of One Eye's head. Her body needed time to recover, so all she could really use at this point was her voice.

Her gaze was met with the single eye of the one that had put an end to this torture in a sense. So he was at least willing to lend an ear. His companions seemed to only just take notice of her, Ieyasu and whatever other prisoners had been able to wander out of their cells.

She could feel Ieyasu's worried gaze but she took no notice. Her throat tightened a bit, worried about what might come after her words were out. Laughter? Denial? Outright ridicule? It took a lot of effort on her part not to look away. "Take me with you."

"Hu-Sayo! What are you thinking?!" Ieyasu made to grab her shoulder once more.

Sayo shrugged him off, this time a lot more harshly and sent a vicious glare his way that caused her friend to recoil in shock. The moment she realized what she had done she looked down and away from Ieyasu. That hadn't been a playful glare one sent their friend. What was wrong with her? Could she be losing her mind here?

"Do you realize what you'd be getting yourself into?"

The sudden closeness of One Eye's voice gave her a start. Looking up she saw that he now stood before her. How had he gotten so close without her notice?

For a moment she was at a loss for words, her jaw moving but no sound escaping. She paused to compose herself, a resolve settling within. Looking in that one eye, she could see pain that had been buried deep down. Now that he was close enough, she could see it. His mask might grin, but his eyes were the opposite. Her answer was a straightforward one.

"Ghouls. A group with cannibals and criminals alike. You kill some of the corrupt as well." At this Sayo looked down at the dead woman whose blood was on her face. Swinging free of the ceiling had robbed Sayo of any strength her legs may have had left so she hadn't been able to get off the body.

"Why would you want to go with us then?" A reasonable question for One Eye to ask. Why would anyone choose to leave with a bunch the Capital deemed criminals when they could stay with their friend.

It was something Sayo knew the answer to, she just wasn't sure how to explain. "Where could I go after this...? I took a bite out of someone and... it felt good, it tasted good." She could hear Ieyasu shift uneasily at the declaration. "It almost seems like a drug and now... now I want more but I also don't want it." Her gaze drifted down, her eyes felt warm but no tears came. Probably because of the cuts between both eyes on either side of the nose. Aria, the girl the had tortured her the most, had grown annoyed of Sayo's eyes watering but never crying, so she had made those cuts in hopes it would cut the tear ducts which ended as a successful endeavor.

For a long moment there was only silence. Then something seemed to flash in that one eye, so brief she couldn't hope to catch it. "Can you walk?"

Did that mean she could go with them...? She couldn't walk though, would that be what decided her fate in the end? Looking down she could see her limp arms and swollen hands, still in chains but she could make out traces of blood and bruising on her wrists. If she couldn't walk, or prove herself capable of movement, what was the point in taking her with? It wasn't like there was a point in lying though. "No..."

Silence reigned once more, only to be broken by the sound of snapping chains. One of those red tentacles had snapped the chains.

Sayo looked up questioningly and was met with a startling black and red eye, unlike before when it had been gray. Once the tentacle was gone however his eye returned to gray. "He'll carry you." Was all One Eye said, tilting his head towards "Loser" who had approached at some point.

She could only give a small nod in answer. Before they left however, there was something she needed to say to her childhood friend. Turning to look at Ieyasu, she could see hurt and betrayal in his dark eyes. "Ieyasu, I'm sorry."

"We were supposed to do this together." Ieyasu murmured quietly, not so much as meeting her eyes. "Now you're going off with these guys and Tatsumi is nowhere to be seen."

Why did she find herself looking away from Ieyasu? Was it the guilt of leaving him alone like this? Whatever it was, she gave a small nod to the man who was to carry her. Understanding the signal he picked her up gently, as if afraid he might hurt her and shifting her position so he carried her in a bridal position. The care went unappreciated though as Sayo had seemingly checked out from the world.

As they left however, she heard Ieyasu speak again.

"You better take care of her, One Eye."

* * *

**Honestly, I always felt Sayo and Ieyasu needed to be expanded upon. Of course they were tortured to some extent so their mentalities probably changed somewhat in that time. Tatsumi was mentioned this chapter, next chapter is when he appears. Aria is still alive, but clearly not for long if the Ghouls intend to kill her. Night Raid might want to kill her as well, then again her threat level has probably gone down now that her parents are dead so things may have changed.**

**Also, before anyone asks, there won't be any romance between Kaneki and Sayo. Kaneki merely sees a fellow victim in need of help and normally, he wouldn't have taken her along but she asked. If the other victims had asked he probably would've considered allowing them to join as well.**

**On another note I'm going to mention the poll again. In regards to the plot of land I will be putting up a poll. Your suggestions are all in there along with a few I came up with. Vote for the idea you like best and do it soon because the poll closes the next time I update.**

**So, let me know what you all thought of this chapter. I don't care how, just let me know. Although I'd prefer not being stalked.**


	11. Missing Day no idea anymore

Alright, I am a terrible person. I say I'll update soon and then nothing. I'm developing a pretty bad track record and you're all probably starting to wonder if I'm ever going to update again. To be frank I don't blame any of you. The reason for the stall is not for lack of ideas, I know where I'm going and all that. To simplify things, I'm terrible at dealing with reality. There's been death, death threats, close calls, and I'm not good at dealing with any of that stuff. I'm on the line, about to drop out of college even.

I'm telling you all this in hopes you'll be patient with me. I don't want sympathies or anything. Just patience. All the various stories both on this site and in my head are constantly buzzing and telling me to write. They're far from forgotten. My dreams are being invaded by Keyblades, ghouls, teigu, souls and magic. Some titans too but that's for a collaboration that might be dead.

While you all have allowed me some breathing space with only the occasional message or review to which I am thankful for, reality has not been as kind. Although oddly enough the fact my window is getting constantly attacked by a robin is making me want to write more. So, I end this with a list of my active and still live merely sleeping stories and where thy are at.

**An Incomplete Soul: **My Kingdom Hearts and Soul Eater crossover, and by far the story I've been stringing along the most. The frogs are hopping mad with me. I have the next chapter started, explosives and snakes and all that fun stuff.

**Harvest Hearts: **My Kingdom Hearts and Harvest Moon crossover, and regrettably my most forgotten one. I actually have the whole thing outlined. After the outline I'm not really sure what happened to be perfectly honest. Picturing the ending made me cry even... crap, might've said too much there. I do plan to get back to this.

**Not Simple Anymore:** My Tokyo Ghoul and Akame ga Kiru crossover, the story destined for bloodshed and tragedy. I actually have scattered bits of the story everywhere to as far as when Lubbock in captivity. The next chapter is three quarters done.

**Shinobi of Twilight: **The adopted Kingdom Hearts and Naruto crossover, the adoptive child. I'm a bit out of date on Naruto and have been trying to catch up. I don't like writing without having a good knowledge of what's occurred thus far. I like to thoroughly research the subjects I'm writing with. So until I catch up the only things to be expected there would be the rest of the original writer's chapters slightly edited.

**Where the Key Belongs: **My Kingdom Hearts and Fairy Tail crossover, perhaps the one on my mind most. I've rewritten the chapter so many damn times because it gets lost one way or another. Driving me nuts because the current version doesn't sit well with me now. I feel like I butchered it but I don't know how to fix it. So I apologize in advance for when I post it.


End file.
